A TOTAL of 2,838 jobs in Cebu are up for grabs for jobseekers during the Labor Day celebration on May 1, 2023, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) 7 said Friday, April 21,2023.
Dole 7 Officer-in-charge-Regional Director Lilia Estillore urged Cebuanos to pre-register for the upcoming “Labor Day Job Fair 2023” to be held at the Robinsons Galleria Cebu Mall Atrium Area on May 1.
This is to avoid getting caught in the influx of people joining the job fairs.
“As of today, we are finalizing the vacancies per company, and we have started releasing the initial list of available posts. The same has been posted on our FB page so that the jobseekers will have enough time to shop for positions they want to apply for in advance,” said Estillore.
To pre-register, Dole 7 said interested applicants may visit its official Facebook Page for more or click bit.ly/Register-LaborDayJFCebu2023 on or before April 30.
Applicants are reminded to prepare their updated resume, biodata, certificates of employment (if applicable), their own ballpoint pens, alcohol and other pre-employment documentary requirements.
Overall, Dole 7 has prepared over 5,000 job vacancies for simultaneous job fairs to be held in Cebu and Negros.
In Cebu, there were 21 participating employers and companies as of Friday.
Dole 7 has also prepared other services such as the One-Stop-Shop Services of partner-agencies, Tesda (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) Booth offering the registration of various scholarship programs and skills demonstration and the Department of Trade and Industry’s one-on-one Business Advisory and Business Registration.
Jobseekers in Cebu can also avail themselves of the Employment Counseling Booth by Dole 7 and the People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) Cebu chapter; Labor Education and Livelihood Desk by Dole 7; and Self-pampering Services by Cebu City’s Department of Manpower Development and Placement.
Among the positions available are those for customer service support, admin and office associates, sales representative, store cashier, promodiser and store supervisor.
Competitive Pay
The Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) reminded employers they need to come up with competitive pay and a good working environment to attract the right workers who will join and stay for the long term in their company.
CCCI president Kenneth Charles Co told SunStar Cebu on Saturday, April 22, that some employees transfer jobs because of poor working conditions or lack of progress in their career, adding that some industries in Cebu City such as health care are experiencing a job mismatch.
“Hospitals lack nurses because some are opting to work in high-paying BPO (business process outsourcing) jobs or leaving the country for better pay. Our healthcare system will need to adjust to this reality to maintain adequate staffing of nurses,” Co said.
He said that in Cebu there is a huge demand for Accounting and Human Relations work due to the outsourcing boom by the BPO sector.
Also in demand are specialized skills in engineering and architecture amid the boom in housing projects.
Unemployment drop
According to the latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) survey in February 2023, about 2.47 million of 51.27 million Filipinos, or 4.8 percent of the labor force, were unemployed. PSA Chief and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said the figure is lower than the 6.4 percent unemployment rate in February 2022.
The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) said in December 2022 that the PSA Labor Force Survey in October showed that the country continued to sustain an upbeat labor market, reflecting a strong economic recovery from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic after the unemployment rate dropped to 4.5 percent from 7.4 percent during the same period in 2021.
Neda Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said it was the lowest unemployment rate recorded in the country for October since 2019. Mapa said data from the February 2023 Labor Force Survey saw an increase in the number of employed Filipinos in the sector for wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles and the accommodation and food service Industry.
However, there was a huge drop in the number of employed persons from February 2022 to February 2023 under the sector for human health and social work activities and the construction industry.