Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) According to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, the new inter-agency task force will implement the 2021-2022 National Employment Recovery Strategy (NERS) to address access to jobs and livelihood programs, facilitate retraining of workers to cope with the present needs, among others. An executive order institutionalizing the NERS Task Force is already being drafted. “Like the rest of the world, the country’s employment was hit hard by the pandemic. Unemployment peaked last April at 17.6 percent or 7.2 million,” Nograles said during a televised press briefing Tuesday, Feb. 23. “While we were able to half that to 8.7 percent by October 2020, we recognize that a coherent national strategy can help create a policy environment that encourages generation of more employment and entrepreneurship opportunities; improve employability and productivity of workers; and provide support to existing and emerging businesses,” he said.