THE number of local residents seeking government assistance to find jobs rose by 88 percent in February compared to the same period last year, according to Division of Employment Services Director Alfred Pangelinan.
Pangelinan said 45 food stamp beneficiaries and 34 walk-in applicants sought job placement assistance in February. There were only 42 applicants during the same month last year, he added.
The January rate, according to Pangelinan, also went up by 23 percent. There were 52 applicants referred by the Nutrition Assistance Program and 38 walk-ins. There were 69 applicants in Jan. 2001.
Only 30 percent of the registered jobseekers successfully landed jobs during the covered period, DES statistics showed.
“A total of 27 applicants were hired out of that number (90 for Jan. 2002). The rest were not hired or we’re still finding jobs for them. In Feb. 2002, only 25 were hired,” Pangelinan said.
More than 70 percent of local jobseekers asking help from DOLI don’t have the required education or training relevant to the vacant position.
To address this problem, the government will focus on the applicant’s personality traits through psychological assessment testing.
However, the hiring rate remains relatively low. Pangelinan said several other factors “are coming into play.”
Under the law, at least 20 percent of the manpower of every business entity in the Northern Marianas must be composed of local residents.
Due to the low wages offered by the private sector, however, most locals prefer to work for the CNMI government.
Most of the workers in the private sector are foreigners, who now outnumber local residents.
