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By Rommel C. Lontayao, Reporter
About one in every six Filipino families with an unemployed adult
family member has suffered from hunger, the Social Weather Stations
(SWS) reported Wednesday.
Based on the results of an SWS survey, the
percentage of those who suffered from hunger involuntarily at least
once during the first quarter of the year was 16.9 percent among
families of the unemployed. “This is three percentage points
higher than the 13.9 percent hunger among families of the
employed,” SWS noted.
The proportion of Filipino families experiencing
involuntary hunger regardless of employment status is 15.5 percent.
Hunger rate was 25 percent among families of
those whose employment contracts were not renewed, 22.7 percent
among those who were laid off, 20.7 percent among families of those
who voluntarily left their jobs, 19.2 percent among families of
those whose employers closed shop, and 10.1 percent among families
of those who never worked.
The survey did not only find hunger higher among
the unemployed, but also revealed that the problem was severe among
those who were laid-off.
Degrees of hunger
Severe hunger, as defined by the SWS, refers to
hunger that was “often” or “always” experienced during the
first quarter of 2009. Moderate hunger, on the other hand, refers to
hunger that was experienced “only once” or “a few times.”
Moderate hunger rate was 12.5 percent among
families of the unemployed or almost three points higher than the
9.6 percent among families of the employed.
Severe hunger rate was 4.4 percent among
families of the unemployed or almost the same as the 4.3 percent
among families of the employed.
But severe hunger rate was highest among those
who were laid off at 16.7 percent, compared to 5.1 percent among
those who voluntarily left their jobs, 4.7 percent among those whose
employers closed operation, and 4.2 percent among those whose job
contracts were not renewed.
Meanwhile, SWS disclosed that among families of
the employed, hunger was lower among families of government
employees compared to those of the self-employed and private
employees.
“Hunger was 7.9 percent among families of
government employees, compared to 11.7 percent among families of the
self-employed, and 20.4 percent among families of private
employees,” the firm reported.
The latest SWS survey measuring hunger rates was
conducted from February 20 to 23, using face-to-face interviews of
1,200 adults in Metro Manila, the balance of Luzon, Visayas and
Mindanao.
The margins of error are plus or minus 3 percent
for national percentages, and plus or minus 6 percent for area
percentages. SWS said the survey was not commissioned.
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