PH revises poverty and jobs targets due to pandemic

The Philippine government has revised its poverty reduction and job creation targets for 2022 due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Previously, the target was to reduce poverty incidence to 14% by 2022; however, the updated Philippine Development Plan now aims for a rate between 15.5-17.5%.

The unemployment rate is also projected to remain high at 7-9%, compared to pre-pandemic targets of 3-5%. Despite these setbacks, Chief Economist Karl Chua remains optimistic that the goal to eliminate poverty by 2040 can still be achieved.