Labor migration causes artificial glut of workers

CEBU, Philippines - While Cebu and other parts of the Southern Philippine region is known for its bustling tourism-driven economy, it is however having a surplus of Hotel, Restaurant Management (HRM) professionals.

According to the latest survey conducted by online job portal Mynimo.com, there are more HRM and other hospitality-related professionals who are either jobless or working in other industries. Cebu's tourism industry in particular cannot accommodate the growing supply.

"As of the moment, HRM graduates and professionals may find it difficult to get employed given the limited job vacancies in the tourism industry," said Mynimo.com president Wesley Chiongbian.

Chiongbian presented the company's January to April 2017 data, which showed that there are considerably more of hospitality professionals than there are employers.

This concern however, Chiongbian believes could be temporary as there will be more hotels, restaurants and tourism related establishments announced to open their respective operations in Cebu in the next few months.

On the other hand, Fidel Magno, head of the Department of Manpower Development and Placement-Cebu defended this artificial rise of HRM professionals, saying the surplus is mainly due to labor migration.

Magno explained that Cebu City is the center of migration. What happens after graduation, those graduates from other provinces come to Cebu to find jobs here.

"After graduation we experience an artificial rise of unemployment, when in fact, these graduates are not from here," Magno added.

Demand for employees in Cebu grew by 22 percent in the first four months of this year, Mynimo.com data revealed.

Sixty percent of job vacancies are from companies located in Cebu City, followed by employers in Mandaue City (24 percent) and establishments in Lapu-Lapu City at 10 percent.

Cebu however, is currently in shortage of outsourcing or call center personnel. Top five in demand jobs in Cebu are in the call center/ BPO followed by IT/ computers, sales/ marketing/retail, accounting/ finance, and engineering/architecture. (FREEMAN)