Climate Change is a long-term shift in the statistics of the weather affecting production and consumption patterns. [1] Today, we are living in a globalized world where huge changes in production and consumption patterns have dramatically affected not only the economy and the environment, but also our social conditions. [2]

Changes in the climate will have an enormous impact on employment and the labor market in general. First, over 1 billion people are employed in the agricultural sector which is the second greatest source of employment worldwide after services. It is clear that climate changes such as extreme weather events, increased incidence of droughts and floods, variability in rainfall patterns, and degradation of lands will have an influence on the agricultural sector. With this, many millions of people working in the agricultural sector will have to face change in the way crops are produced or even look for new pastures elsewhere. The agricultural sector will decrease in size because of the negative effects of climate change. Nowadays, typhoons come and go and so is true with the scorching heat. These extremes damage plantations. This is the time where we are already getting too much of what we wanted. Gone are the days where there is enough rainfall, average temperature, and nice environment. Climate change upsets farmers because most of their crops are wrecked by typhoons and the increasing temperature. With that, there is a tendency that the number of farmers and gardeners of hacienderos will decrease because of lesser returns of investment due to the devastations caused by climate change.

Second, the tourism industry which is one of the fastest growing industries globally will also be affected by climate change. As a result of rising sea levels, many coastal areas and small islands will have to address changes in relation to jobs because it is estimated that in the next 30 years, severe coastal erosion will occur and at worst, a large proportion of the land mass will disappear and salt water intrusion will make the islands uninhabitable. Beaches and bays are most countries’ tourist attractions. When this worst happens, residents working as tourist guides, souvenir vendors, and other business owners and employees need to go uptown and start a new life. Unemployment will increase when this happens.

Third, man is prone to extreme weather events like hurricanes. Climate change is a health issue that affects billions of people. It is not just an environmental issue. Climate change brings with different patterns of infection and new ranges of insect-borne diseases. Heat waves even cause more deaths. The supply of clean water and food, which could result in as many cases of malnutrition and diarrheal diseases, is an effect of the growing climate change. The effect of climate change has already caused many deaths. Deaths mean decrease in the labor force. We cannot blame the climate change however because it is us, causing it.

Fourth, it is sad however to say that the advantage seen here is the increase in employment of the people in the medicinal world due to the spread of diseases and the increase of sick people. The thousands of unemployed nurses in the Philippines will soon be employed while the affected sectors will gain unemployment.

Fifth, the Fishing Industry will soon have a decline in the volume of their catches which will thereby lead to lesser number of workers. Fishes are sensitive to the temperature of the water. Some of them will not live when the temperature after 30 years is beyond what their body can feel and sense. Many of these fishes will soon be extinct. Sooner or later, the labor force in the fishing industry will also decline exponentially. Above all, climate change is a real global phenomenon. It is inevitable in fact because the beginning of it started eons ago. The only thing that we can do is adapt to the growing climate change and start living a life that could at least defer the growth so that our posterities would at least experience the “once perfect” environment that we had.

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[1] http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/climate/Climatechange.pdf
[2] http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_dialogue/--actrav/documents/publications/
wcms_122181.pdf