US crisis pushes OFWs to seek jobs back home

A Cebu-based online job portal, www.mynimo.com, has noted a growing number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) who are now looking for local jobs amid the global credit crisis.

Mynimo president Wesley Chiongbian said that Filipinos based in the United States, United Kingdom and Japan are now showing interest to find jobs in the Philippines.

"It's clear that the sudden growth for our website's traffic is coming from Filipinos abroad. They may be looking into the employment opportunities available for them if they have to come back to the country. We can say that they are simply preparing for this (layoff) scenario," Chiongbian said.

The company noted the spike in visitors traffic at the height of spreading news that companies in developing countries are bound to lay off workers to survive the crisis.

Chiongbian reported that Mynimo's website traffic data generated sudden increase of users in the US mainly coming from the States of California (60 percent increase), Texas (160 percent increase), New Jersey (400 percent increase), Florida (123 percent increase) and Utah (81 percent increase) – states where a huge number of Filipinos currently work. There are also recorded increases in the United Kingdom (43 percent) and Japan (25 percent).

The increases are very significant considering Mynimo gets over 50,000 page-views a day from users all over the world.

Chiongbian believes Cebu’s livability as well as its progress make it very attractive not only for native Cebuanos, but for Filipinos who are looking for employment opportunities in the country.

"Cebu would be a very good option for returning OFWs since the province is growing at an impressive pace," Chiongbian added.

"Cebu also has a lower cost of living, so it would be an ideal place for unemployed professionals to minimize their expenses while looking for employers in the country," he added.

Chiongbian stressed that based on our research, at any given day, Cebu has over 100 companies seeking qualified people for their expanding businesses in the city.

Established in 2007, Mynimo has surged to become one of most popular locally developed websites in the country because of its friendly user interface and its focus on jobs in Cebu. Its service is free for job applicants.