Job candidates and employers are moving in the same direction to major cities in the provinces outside of Metro Manila, a study showed.
Philip Gioca, country manager of online job portal JobStreet, said during a virtual webinar to announce the companies effort to create microsites in Cebu, Iloilo and Davao.
Based on its latest Global Talent Survey, Gioca said more and more Filipinos are looking to move back to the provinces because of the work from home set up.
This is evident in JobStreet where job candidate activities have also shown increases in some major cities outside of Metro Manila.
As of 2021, JobStreet earned a 13 percent growth in average platform visits from Cebu, 56 percent from Davao, and 44 pecent in Iloilo. Moreover, hirers from the said provinces are gradually picking up. Based on JobStreet Database as of March 2021, job offerings based in Central Visayas grew by 9 percent from a sharp decline in 2020. Western Visayas recently jumped to 44 percent increase in job openings, while Davao Region is also recovering with 26 percent job postings this year.
With this development, JobStreet has launched its microsites in the major cities using the local dialects.
For instance, the microsite for Cebu offers opportunities from the top industries namely Call Center/IT-Enabled Services/BPO (12.5%), Manufacturing/Production (7.6%), Healthcare/ Medical (6.5%), Education (5.5%), and Construction/Building/Engineering (5.2%). The average salary reported in Cebu is P31,487.
Candidates from Davao can apply for jobs with an average salary of P28,500 as top industries continue hiring such as Call Center/IT-Enabled Services/BPO (8.7%), Healthcare/Medical (7.8%), Education (7.2%), Food & Beverage/Catering/Restaurant (5.6%), and Retail/Merchandise (5.3%).
Meanwhile, thousands of jobs are also found in Iloilo microsite with an average salary of P27,370. Top industries include Healthcare/Medical (13.6%), Call Center/IT-Enabled Services/BPO (9.2%), Education (8.3%), Construction/Building/Engineering (5.6%), and Food & Beverage/Catering/Restaurant (5.3%).
Ensuring that the initiative will be advantageous for both local hirers and candidates, JobStreet is also establishing a local team in each province to accommodate queries.
The study also showed that 96 percent of Filipino respondents want to continue working from home given the choice and 49 percent prefer a five-day work week to work remotely.
As the economy slowly reopened, JobStreet expects more companies offering thousands of jobs in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
JobStreet continues to support the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in providing livelihood among Filipinos during this period. Following the success of the recent Virtual Career Fair, JobStreet partners with selected DOLE regions to launch another Virtual Career Fair on May 1 to 3.
Over 100 companies from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao are participating in the upcoming Virtual Career Fair, offering thousands of jobs nationwide. Candidates from different regions will also have a chance to experience engaging features such as live chats, on-the-spot interviews with HR representatives, and companies’ virtual booths. In addition, DOLE Regional Offices will accommodate concerns and questions from candidates via chat in the platform.