Stress tolerance is a necessary skill for jobseekers in the "new normal".
This was learned via the findings of the JobsFit COVID-19 Labor Market Information (LMI) Report of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which tackled the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the labor market landscape.
"To keep up with the labor market, dominant skills needed by jobseekers include digital literacy; financial literacy; occupational safety and health skills; integrity, which entails physical, mental, and reproductive health; and stress tolerance," DOLE said in a statement Sunday, Feb.28.
"Prior to the pandemic, the top skills highlighted by jobseekers are soft skills, which include being a team player, social awareness, problem sensitivity, self-motivation, planning and organizing, decision-making, creative problem solving, innovation, English functional skill, and comprehension, and multi-tasking," the agency said.
The report also showed that compared to 2019 when the majority of jobseekers were fresh graduates or new entrants to the labor force, wage-employed workers accounted for the most number of jobseekers in 2020.
"Facilitating access to labor market through timely, relevant, and accurate labor market information is part of the government’s action plan towards economic and social recovery," Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said during the launch of the report Friday, Feb.26.
The report also presented the impact on employment brought by the community quarantine restrictions, labor supply profile, labor demand, job search trends, and the key employment generators or the major industry groups with the greatest potential to generate employment in the years to come.
Majority of the jobseekers highlighted the need for digital and technical skills, which may be accounted for the shift in the labor demand and working arrangements.
Among the industries that remained at the top, or those with the highest number of vacancies during the pandemic, were business process outsourcing (BPO), information and communication technology (ICT), manufacturing, financial intermediation, sales, retail, and medical and healthcare.
New industries that emerged came from the government sector, general services and utility, and accounting.
In terms of occupations, call center agent, customer representative/service assistant, nurse, and sales clerk positions consistently remained at the top of the list.
Emerging as new top occupations amid the pandemic are teachers, engineers, administrative assistants, system developers, software developers and programmers, web developers, supervisors, and real estate and property positions.