CLOSE to 200,000 employment opportunities are set to be offered to jobseekers during the nationwide Labor Day job fairs of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Friday, May 1, 2026.
In a media briefing, DOLE spokesman Lennard Serrano said they have already solicited 190,825 job offers from 2,274 participating employers for the May 1 activities.
"We are really intensifying our employment facilitation services so that our countrymen will have the opportunity to have decent and quality jobs," said Serrano.
He said there are now a total of 90 designated job fair sites across all regions of the country.
Labor Day job fair sites may be viewed via https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Gc2X8MRRo/.
"We have scheduled job fairs in almost all provinces," said Serrano.
The department said the top participating sectors are the wholesale and retail, manufacturing, construction, business process outsourcing, and accommodation and food service sectors.
Among the top job openings are stock clerks and sales associates for retail operations; production operators and production workers for manufacturing; carpenters, foremen, and steelmen for construction; customer service representatives for the BPO industry; and service crew, line cooks, and baristas for the hospitality sector.
Jobseekers are then advised to be prepared before going to the different job fair sites.
"They are encouraged to bring multiple copies of their application documents, including resumes and valid identification cards, to facilitate faster and more efficient processing," said Serrano.
Wage hike calls
For their part, workers organizations are pressing the government to raise wage rates amid the soaring prices of basic commodities and services due to the crisis in the Middle East.
In a statement ahead of their Labor Day protest actions, labor groups Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), Federation of Free Workers (FFW), and Partido Manggagawa (PM) all renewed their calls for the P200 legislated wage hike.
"On Labor Day, workers raise one clear demand: a P200/day wage hike nationwide toward a living wage," said the FFW.
"Labor groups are demanding for a P200 wage hike," said PM.
"To immediately help minimum wage earners and the middle class, we need a P200 daily minimum wage increase," said TUCP.
They warned that the economic managers of the government should rethink their "old lines" of opposing such a wage increase saying they are no longer acceptable to workers.
"Workers must be paid a wage that allows them to live a truly human life and to fulfill their family obligations in a worthy manner," said FFW.
Otherwise, the workers said they will have no other recourse but to bring their demands to the streets.
"The patience of the Filipino working class has run out. No more appeals. What comes next is collective pressure, escalating actions, and sustained disruption until concrete action on this long-overdue key legislation is forced," said TUCP.
PM said several labor groups under the National Wage Coalition are set to hold a unified march from Welcome Rotonda and EspaƱa Boulevard going to Mendiola in Manila on Friday, while other workers are expected to join in nationwide protests, particularly in the cities of Cebu, Bacolod, and Iloilo. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)
