By ALDWIN QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

The trouble with unemployment is that the minute you wake up in the morning you’re on the job. — Slappy White

Unemployment : The state of having no job; joblessness; The phenomenon of joblessness in an economy; The level of joblessness in an economy, often measured as a percentage of the workforce; A type of joblessness due to a particular economic mechanism; An instance or period of joblessness – en.wiktionary.org/wiki/unemployment

Unemployed: Number of people within the economically active population (people between 15-65 years), who are willing to work, looking for a job, but unable to find a job.

-www.environment.gov.za/Enviro-Info/sote/nsoer/general/glossary.htm
In a new imitation talent search show here in the Philippines, many people try their luck in the audition. They all hope to make it to be in the final selection and make it to the top to win the P2 million prize. You can see their perseverance and their determination.

In order to please the three judges, they do their best to show their maybe God-given or planned for that competition talent. The contestants sing, do some funny things, dance, act and many others.

A man who was unemployed for years and who has been looking for a job his whole life auditioned for that show. When interviewed, he said he joined to show his talent and his unending search for the elusive job will stop.
He then rose to the stage, and amidst the laughter of everybody in the audition, he was wearing funny clothes and in the ridiculous make-up of a clown. He was then asked by one of the judges what was his talent, he said he was a singing contortionist. He can sing and do some body twisting and fancy exhibitions.

When he started to do his number, the people in the room laughed and shouted jeered and booed. One of the judgescould not control her giggle and finally burst out into laughter. The poor man still continued trying to sing even if he was out of tune and he was not really a contortionist. But you can see in his face the hopelessness of a hungry man. He had to do this so if ever he may be counted in by the judges, there will be a chance for him to redeem himself from unemployment and who knows, he will get the P2 million.

Many are like him who are not really talented at all. They are just trying their very best and their luck. Even if they will turn out to be the laughing stock of the audience and the judges. They also have to endure what the judges say, as one of the judges used to say: “ang pangit ng pinakita mo (whatever you had showed us was ugly),” or listen to the No of the judges. Many times, they will be ridiculed by the crowd and the people who know them.

According to the latest government survey, the country has 2.83 million unemployed Filipinos in January. The militant Kilusang Mayo Uno (May 1st movement or KMU) said the most recent jobless rate is 7.3 % higher than October last year which is 7.1%. In 2009, Ibon Data Foundation said that 25 million up to 32 million Filipinos are either jobless or underemployed.

Even if the present administration twisted the definition of unemployment, it cannot hide the job scarcity in the country. In 2005, the government excluded from the labor force those who are tired of looking for work and those who see that there are no available jobs for the unemployed.

How many Filipinos who have no job will try their luck in funny talent searches and promises of prices because they cannot find a job? How many Filipinos who because of joblessness endure ridicule just to grab a chance to get that instant income?

Will there come a time when there will be no unemployed?# nordis.net