The Philippines saw a 2% year-on-year dip in online recruitment activity in June 2023 compared to June 2022, according to the latest foundit Insights Tracker. The index fell from 127 in June 2022 to 124 in June 2023.

Despite the drop in recruitment activity, sectors such as healthcare, retail, and BPO/ITES (business process outsourcing/IT-enabled services) witnessed progressive annual hiring growth in June 2023. 

Amidst the ongoing pursuit of cost-cutting measures by global businesses, call centres and outsourcing companies in the Philippines have exceeded revenue and hiring targets and managed to maintain a positive outlook for the BPO job market. These promising numbers confirm a gradual but continuous improvement in the labour market, implying that demand for online recruitment will continue to climb in the coming months.

Sekhar Garisa, CEO, foundit, said, "Hiring is picking up pace in the Philippines. We are hopeful that jobs will rebound in the upcoming months as certain sectors such as healthcare, retail, and BPO/ITES are showing a positive growth trajectory. The Philippines government has also shown support for gig & hybrid jobs, boosting hiring for service. This is crucial for job seekers, as it gives them more flexibility and opportunities to work in different sectors and locations."

The index also found that the healthcare industry continued to dominate the job market in June 2023, with a year-on-year increase of 26% hiring in the sector. Despite the shortage of skilled nurses and doctors, there has been a promising upward trend in hiring efforts to meet the country's healthcare demands. Also, the retail industry (+12%) witnessed double-digit growth in hiring demand this month owing to the increased number of customers visiting physical stores. 

On the flip side, the logistics, courier/freight/transportation, and shipping industry, along with IT and telecom/ISP, has recorded a dramatic decline in hiring activity, with a year-on-year decrease of 34% and 20%, respectively. 

Among job roles, there was a high demand for healthcare professionals (21%), marking the steepest annual growth in June 2023. 

On the other hand, jobs in purchase/ logistics/ supply chain (-24%) have faced some challenges since January 2023 and showed the lowest growth in hiring this month among all monitored functions. 

The foundit Insights Tracker is a comprehensive monthly analysis of online job posting activity conducted by foundit. Based on a real-time review of millions of employer job opportunities culled from a large, representative selection of online career outlets, the foundit Insights Tracker (fit) presents a snapshot of employer online recruitment activity nationwide.