The World Bank Group has released its first Growth and Jobs Report (GJR) for the Philippines, aiming to address the country’s slow economic growth and persistent employment challenges. According to the report, from 2010 to 2024, the Philippines’ average GDP growth was 5.3 percent, which is lower than countries like Korea and Malaysia during similar development periods. The majority of new jobs have been created in low-productivity service sectors, with significant regional disparities and low female participation in the workforce.
Developed through consultations with government officials, academics, and private sector representatives, the GJR outlines a reform agenda intended to generate more quality jobs by expanding opportunities and strengthening capabilities. The recommendations focus on increasing investment and innovation, improving local government revenue collection, simplifying business regulations, deepening capital markets, and modernizing procurement processes. To build human capital, the report highlights addressing skills mismatches, investing in early childhood development and foundational education, and encouraging higher participation of women in the labor force.
These priorities are reflected in policy reforms supported by the Philippines Growth and Jobs Development Policy Loan (GJ DPL), which includes changes in property valuation, procurement practices, capital market development, digital business registration systems, as well as new education and training laws. The World Bank Group’s approach is complemented by International Finance Corporation support for small- and medium-sized enterprise finance and capital market initiatives. Partnerships with other multilateral development banks such as the Asian Development Bank are also reinforcing these efforts.
The report provides 47 targeted recommendations that could increase average annual growth by 1.4 percentage points and create an estimated 5.1 million better-paying jobs by 2040. This analysis has become central to policy discussions among stakeholders in government, academia, and business communities. It has directly informed both national policy actions—such as reforms in taxation, procurement regulations, capital markets—and WBG’s own engagement strategies including lending decisions.
Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the Department of Economic Planning and Development stated: “The Growth and Jobs Report gave us a clear map of what holds back faster growth and job creation. It sharpened our focus on investment, skills, and fiscal reforms.”
If fully implemented from 2025 to 2040, the GJR reform package could boost annual GDP growth by up to 1.4 percentage points per year while creating millions of quality jobs; real wages could rise nearly 13 percent over this period. The findings are now embedded into the Philippines’ new Country Partnership Framework for 2025–2031—a plan that targets four million additional quality jobs—and guide further policy interventions such as those supporting firms’ internationalization efforts led by the Department of Trade and Industry.
The World Bank Group notes that addressing employment challenges requires cooperation across society—not just government action—and emphasizes that rigorous analysis combined with broad consultation leads to actionable recommendations with measurable impact.
Looking ahead, lessons learned from this process are being used to inform similar reports in other countries.