Over 4,000 individuals either secured jobs or were on the brink of doing so in the aftermath of the Department of Labor and Employment's (DOLE) nationwide simultaneous online job fair on Labor Day last Saturday, May 1.
Of the applicants who sought employment, 296 were hired-on-the-spot, DOLE Secretary Silvestre Bello III said.
Meanwhile, 3,884 were "near-hires" or those who were considered hired, but still had to submit additional requirements, or may need to undergo further interviews or exams to fully qualify for the job.
Some 58,082 job vacancies were dangled during the event, which took place in the different regions via several online platforms. Traditional, face-to-face job fairs remain untenable because of the persisting coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The applicants who took part in Labor Day job fair totalled 60,795.
Bello said 217 jobseekers were referred to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for further skills training or re-tooling, while 224 were referred to the DOLE’s Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns for livelihood training.
Another138 were referred to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for business inquiries and concerns.
The figures may still rise since they were just based on initial reports coming from the DOLE regional offices.
Conducted in 16 regions, the simultaneous job fairs featured 665 employers from both here and abroad Heavily represented were the industries of manufacturing, health, business process outsourcing, textile, and construction.