Following the loss of about 8 3/4 million jobs from 2008 through 2009, private-sector employment expanded by a little more than 1 million in 2010. However, this gain was barely sufficient to accommodate the inflow of recent graduates and other new entrants to the labor force and, therefore, not enough to significantly erode the wide margin of slack that remains in our labor market.
Let me assure our colleagues from the banking community and the business sector here in Mindanao that we shall continue to explore ways to enhance our operations so as to facilitate the greater flow of credit in the countryside. In line with this strategy, the BSP has approved a new project that will compliment the e-rediscounting system.