Online hiring spikes 23% in November

MANILA, Philippines — Online hiring activity in the country grew by 23 percent year-on-year in November, with the retail and healthcare sectors registering the highest increase, employment website Monster.com said.

The Monster Employment Index (MEI) showed the country posted a 23 percent growth in online recruitment activity in November from its level a year ago.

An increase in the MEI indicates growth in online job availability and suggests an increase in the demand for employees by employers.

Retail led the growth in online hiring activity in the country, posting a 38 percent annual increase, maintaining its uptrend since August last year.

Healthcare came in second as it climbed 33 percent year-on-year in November.

Other industries such as hospitality, banking and financial services, as well as advertising also saw notable growth numbers of 26 percent, 25 percent and 21 percent year-on-year, respectively.

Meanwhile, education was the only industry which registered a decline, dropping by five percent year-on-year in November.

In terms of job roles, the MEI showed the highest growth was seen in the purchase/logistics/supply chain profession as it went up 47 percent year-on-year.

This was followed by finance and accounts with a 39 percent increase.

Other notable professions like marketing and communications, customer service, and hospitality and travel posted growth numbers of 25 percent, 24 percent, and 13 percent, respectively, between November this year and last year.

“The Department of Labor and Employment recently revealed an upswing in the Philippines’ employment landscape with 800,000 new jobs created this year. The consistently positive uptrend in online hiring recorded by the MEI over the last few years is in line with this,” Abhijeet Mukherjee, chief executive officer of Monster.com for Asia Pacific and Middle East, said.

Mukherjee added the hiring outlook in the country remains positive as the government continues to encourage investments in human resource development, research and development, finance and infrastructure.