Online job hiring growth flat in October

MANILA, Philippines - Online job hiring in the Philippines failed to recover in October, posting zero growth after the previous month’s decline traced from weak external environment and the peso’s plunge, an online research firm said.

Still, the October online recruitment performance was a slight improvement from the two-percent dip reported in September, according to the latest Monster Employment Index (MEI).

“Following the external economic volatilities and the earlier peso plunge, the pace of hiring in Philippines has eased further as companies and employers remain watchful of the economic development,” Monster.com managing director for Asia-Pacific and Middle East Sanjay Modi said.

Despite this, Modi maintained prospects for the country remain bright as economic growth, averaging seven percent as of the third quarter continued to be strong.

“The Philippines has outshone its regional counterparts when it comes to economic growth, indicating strong resilience against external factors and signifying stable performance in the long term,” he said.

Sector-wise, MEI showed jobs under the telecommunications and information technology sector led the declines with a double-digit 12-percent plunge in hiring last month.

Marketing and communications professional roles followed with a drop of seven percent from same period last year.

On the flip side, the education sector recorded its sixth consecutive double-digit hiring growth at 14 percent, while those for customer service grew nine percent.

New jobs in the purchase, logistics and supply chain and sales and business development jobs all rose seven percent during the period.

For Modi, the sector to watch out for, however, is the tourism and hospitality sector with the Philippines’ renewed relations with China.

“Chinese investments pouring into Philippines are likely to result in continued growth,” he said.

“The Department of Tourism estimates that two million Chinese tourists will flock to the country annually. It is mapping out ways to cope with the influx of visitors, much of which will result in the creation of jobs,” he said.

MEI is a monthly gauge of online job posting activity based on real-time review of millions of job opportunities culled from a large representative selection of career websites and online job listings across the Philippines.