The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) of the Philippines recently disclosed a set of concerning employment data: since January this year, a total of 244,000 job positions were offered through government-sponsored job fairs nationwide, yet only 3,572 individuals successfully secured employment. This figure highlights the contradiction in the Philippine labor market of "ample positions but insufficient matching" following the ban on the POGO industry.
In a briefing organized by the National Employment and Employment Bureau (Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon) in April, Assistant Secretary and head of the Bureau of Local Employment (BLE) Patrick Patriwirawan Jr. presented the details.
He stated that from the beginning of the year, the Department of Labor had organized 128 recruitment events, attracting 2,253 employers and offering over 244,000 job vacancies.
Patriwirawan emphasized, "Following the President's directives, we are collaborating with multiple departments to ensure that the public can effectively participate in these employment opportunities. We are closely working with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), the Department of Health (DOH), and other agencies to facilitate job seekers' employment."
However, the significant disparity between the number of job vacancies and the actual employment figures has also raised concerns about structural issues in employment. The Department of Labor pointed out that there is still a noticeable shortage of manpower in several industries, particularly in Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM), transportation and logistics, hospitality, manufacturing, as well as wholesale and retail sectors.
The most recent round of recruitment events took place from March 14 to 31 in various cities of Metro Manila, including Quezon City, Makati, Pasay, Las Piñas, Manila, and Valenzuela, attracting a large number of job seekers, yet the number of successful hires remained low.
This situation also indirectly reflects that despite the government's proactive efforts in promoting employment, there is still a disconnect between labor skills and market demands, suggesting that more training and policy guidance may be needed to improve job seekers' suitability for employment.
