The Philippine job market is now back to 75 percent of its pre-pandemic level based on online postings, with general workers and blue-collar jobs – housekeepers, drivers, dispatch, messengers among others – registering the most increase in applications.
The 2021 Salary Report of Jobstreet also noted 50 percent of jobs offered in 2021 in its portal gives an average 23-percent increase in wages from 2020 and a 17.5 – percent pay cut across 22 industries.
Philip Gioca, country manager of Jobstreet Philippines, 2021 job trends show that “we are inching our way to recovery (as Jobstreet) rounded up 75,000 jobs per day or any given time, an increase of 27 percent from 2020 of 59,000 jobs at any given time. That increase is a signal that jobs are increasing. Market is reopening. “
JobStreet also recorded 105 million job searches last year
“It proves the activity of job seeking was tremendous in 2021,” Gioca said.
But Gioca said because of the disruption, the type of roles being sought are in general work – housekeepers, drivers, mostly in the blue collar space.
Most of the jobseekers come from small and medium companies and have been displaced by the pandemic.
Gioca said companies with service thriving in the new normal are specific those into computers, information technology, telco, digital marketing, education and business process outsourcing (BPOs) where higher salaries are offered.
Because of the shift to online learning, 67 percent of the ads in education is giving an increase in salary by 23 percent.
Gioca said pay cuts were noted in gas and oil, hospitality and even BPOs, depending on the role.
He said accounting and finance actually dropped their salary offers compared to 2020.
The report compared data from JobStreet’s pool of employers between the first and third quarter of 2021 versus 2020
By region, 20 out of 43 industries in the National Capital Region experienced major pay cuts in position level, median salary. Despite this, 16 industries in the region including public service; science and technology; legal; beauty, health and fitness; human resources among others had pay increases in the same period.
Growth in salary is also seen in provinces with rising economic activity and those in proximity to NCR. Among the top provinces are Angeles City, Iloilo City, Calamba City, Bulacan, and Cavite. Salary increases were also observed in Palawan, General Santos City, Batangas, Cebu City, and Baguio City. – Irma Isip
