Online hiring in Philippines up 17% in December 2018

Purchasing, logistics and supply chain professionals were the most sought after.

Online hiring in the Philippines experienced a strong growth rate of 17% YoY in December 2018, albeit slowing from November’s 23% YoY growth rate, according to findings from the Monster Employment Index (MEI).

The MEI which records the industries and occupations that show the highest and lowest growth in recruitment activity through Monster.com’s platform found that the Philippines’ hospitality industry recorded the largest growth in December of 34% YoY. This was closely followed by the healthcare and retail industries with 33% and 32% YoY growth, respectively.

The only industry to record a decline out of the 12 industries monitored by the index was education with a -8% fall in December 2018. It continued the downward trend seen in November of -5%.

According to the index, all the occupation categories monitored by the MEI registered positive YoY growth for December, led by the purchasing, logistics and supply chain profession with a 35% YoY growth. This was followed by professionals within the healthcare and finance & accounting industry with a 29% and 26% growth, respectively.

“Other notable professions such as marketing and communications, hospitality and travel, and customer service clocked in growth numbers of 16%, 14% and 10%, respectively, between December 2017 and 2018,” the firm said in a statement.

“Online hiring in the Philippines has been consistently high for the year and will likely remain so in the coming year as well,” Monster.com Asia Pacific and Middle East’s CEO Abhijeet Mukherjee said in a statement. “The government is stepping up implementation of the ‘build, build, build’ program, paving the way forward for economic growth which will further drive hiring growth.”

According to the United Nations’ World Economic Situation and Prospects 2019 report, Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) growth is projected at 6.5% in 2019, up from 6.3% in 2018.

With regards to salaries, increases for employees in the country averaged 6% in 2018 and is projected to remain the same for 2019 on the back of most employees choosing to stay with their current employers, according to the latest Salary Budget Planning report by global risk management and advisory firm Willis Towers Watson.

Also read: Philippine salaries to grow 6% in 2019

Economic challenges in the Philippines over the last few months have directly impacted wages, starting with the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law which expanded the value-added tax (VAT) base and introduced an excise tax of sugar-sweetened beverages.