BEST PESO. Ilocos Norte has been adjudged as the best PESO performer in Region 1. The Department of Labor and Employment Regional Office 1 announced this on its Facebook page on June 19, 2023, congratulating the province for its award-winning employment programs, benefiting the Ilocano youth, including out-of-school youth and seniors. (PNA photo courtesy of DOLE-1)
LAOAG CITY – The Provincial Employment Service Office (PESO) of Ilocos Norte is the 2022 best PESO in Region 1 under the provincial category, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced on its Facebook page on Monday.
Ilocos Norte has an estimated employment rate of 98.9 percent equivalent to 350,000 employed individuals based on the 2022 record of PESO Ilocos Norte.
With an increase of 20,000 as compared to the previous year’s 330,000 employed persons, Ilocos Norte achieved the highest employment rate in the region followed by Ilocos Sur, Pangasinan and La Union.
According to DOLE, the awards were based on a set of criteria which include the number of people employed through the assistance of the PESO, the number of job fairs conducted and the number of students who availed of summer jobs.
Anne Marie Lizzette B. Atuan, PESO Ilocos Norte manager, credits their success to the support of Gov. Matthew Joseph Manotoc and all other public and private employers whom they have worked with to generate more jobs for local residents.
“We are thankful for the support and dedication of our governor for inviting more employers and for making jobs more accessible for applicants,” she said in an interview, citing a massive information drive about the PESO’s programs and activities also helped a lot in the continuing job matching activities.
As one of the priority programs of the Ilocos Norte government, the PESO continues to strengthen its mandate through career orientations with local government units (LGUs) and partnerships with local and international employers.
To date, various job-generating activities are being conducted in the province such as the Special Program for the Employment of Students, the Jobstart program, as well as the provision of emergency employment and livelihood assistance programs to ensure that marginalized earners will have the opportunity to earn more.
The provincial PESO likewise maintains an online jobs portal, a dedicated website for job seekers and employers to make job searching and employment within the province easier through a more efficient and technologically updated process. (PNA)
