A TOTAL of 1,550 job seekers registered during the 10th job fair organized by the Lapu-Lapu City Public Employment Service Office (Peso) on Friday, May 14, 2026.
Peso manager Kim Francisco said in a message to SunStar Cebu that 898 of the applicants were female, while 652 were male.
The job fair, dubbed “Job Fair sa Mahi Center,” also resulted in 327 applicants being hired on the spot, including 204 males and 123 females.
“It’s an unprecedented result… wala mi gadahom ingon ato kadaghan ang nidagsa nga jobseekers kay we were just estimating around 600 to 800 to come,” Francisco said.
(“We did not expect that many job seekers to flock to the event because we were only estimating around 600 to 800 attendees.”)
Growing workforce
Francisco said several factors may have contributed to the large turnout, including the increasing number of senior high school and college graduates entering the labor force and competing for available jobs.
He said most of the vacancies sourced during the activity were for production workers, particularly from companies inside the Mactan Export Processing Zone (Mepz).
In an earlier interview, Francisco said the strategic location of the Mahi Center near the economic zone and the wide range of participating employers may have also contributed to the turnout.
More job fairs planned
Francisco said Peso initially aimed to conduct job fairs quarterly, but increasing demand for employment programs has prompted the office to hold as many as three job fairs a month.
A total of 28 employers participated in the activity, offering 1,421 job vacancies from industries such as hotels, hospitality, malls, supermarkets, English as a Second Language schools and manpower agencies.
Young applicants dominate
Based on Peso data, Francisco said most applicants in previous job fairs were aged 18 to 25.
He described the age group as part of the workforce’s productive years and the preferred demographic for many entry-level positions.
Upcoming activities
The latest job fair was organized in partnership with the Mahi Center and the Mepz Human Resource Association.
Peso has lined up two more job fairs this May: a Barangay Job Fair on May 21 at Canjulao Elementary School in Barangay Canjulao, and another job fair on May 28 at Rizwoods Colleges in Barangay Maribago, Lapu-Lapu City. / DPC