This is basically an explanatory paper that embodies the responses of social partners and stakeholders to the current financial crisis in the Asian region.  It describes the highlights in the crafting of the Medium-Term Comprehensive Employment Plan (CEP) for 1999-2004, putting emphasis on employment strategies: employment preservation, employment generation, employment enhancement and employment facilitation.  

Using historical elasticities of employment to growth, the employment projections under the CEP for the five-year period were derived based on the growth projections for the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) under the Medium-Term Philippine development Plan.  Immediate concerns (e.g., rising unemployment and underemployment rates, sluggish private sector investment and export performance) call for more focused training interventions, and the need for more responsive labor policies.