More recruitment agencies in the Philippines, which were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, have now shut down their operations, reports the Business Mirror citing data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. POEA Administrator Bernard P. Olalia said many of these recruitment agencies have closed down their main offices and branches due to the Covid-related economic slowdown. He made the remark in response to the statement from the recruitment industry that as much as 600 to 700 Covid-affected land-based recruitment agencies have stopped their operations. Based on the initial data it presented during a Senate budget hearing, POEA said the number of overseas Filipino workers deployed this year was 1,394,788 as of last month, which was lower compared to the 2 million for the entire 2019.