TARLAC CITY – The Commission on Population and Development Region III is calling for support in the labor sector as the working age group increases in Central Luzon.
Based on the projections made by the agency, the working age group will continue to increase in 2021 but at a slower pace as the region’s total population would reach 12,609,535.
Popcom acting regional director Maricar Prieto said among population groups, the most notable increase was observed within the working-age.
“Those between 15 to 64 years old will reach 8,364,085, making up 66 percent of the entire population,” Prieto noted.
“The working population by 2021 will be composed of males at 4,250,284 and females at 4,113,761, with a difference of 136,523 between the sexes,” she added.
According to her, this implies the need for additional job creation particularly at the local level, which will be challenging given the current Covid-19 pandemic and its effects on the labor sector.
“The increase in the working-age population also implies for greater productivity for the region with additional members of the labor force compared to dependents,” she said.
“The region is slowly positioning itself to reap from the economic gains brought by shifts in a population’s age structure,” the official added.
However, Prieto emphasized that this demographic change must be reinforced by policies and programs that would ensure the needs of the labor force, as well as the dependents.
“There is a need for approaches to not only focus on employment, but also in healthcare particularly in family planning, as well as education,” she said.
With this, Popcom Region III seeks help in the implementation of the population management program in the region.
Popcom’s estimates for 2021 are based on geometric-method projections using the last population census in 2015 by the Philippine Statistics Authority. — Gabriela Liana S. Barela/PIA–3
