DOLE sees increase in jobseekers during Labor Day job fair

MANILA, Philippines - Labor officials disclosed that more jobseekers are expected to attend the nationwide job and livelihood fairs on Labor Day, May 1, after thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) were displaced from their jobs in the Middle East.

Labor Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) expects at least 50,000 jobseekers, including displaced workers from abroad, to participate in the job fair to be held at the Luneta in Manila and other areas in the country.

“At this time, over 1,000 employers are already set to participate and offer at least 100,000 vacancies during the nationwide job fair and we also expect 50,000 job applicants to be coming,” Cacdac said.

Cacdac said 150 local employers would offer 30,000 job openings in Metro Manila.         

Criselda Sy, director of the DOLE’s Bureau of Local Employment (BLE), said the government also expects to facilitate employment of more workers than in past Labor Day fairs.

“During last year’s Labor Day, 13 percent of the available job vacancies were filled and this year we hope to place or fill as much as 15 percent of the jobs to be offered by both local and foreign employers,” Sy disclosed.

Sy said this year DOLE is also putting up a special booth to provide immediate employment for the OFWs who were rendered jobless as a result of the civil war in Libya.

DOLE reported that over 9,000 OFWs have returned from Libya in the past months. Some 3,000 of the displaced OFWs from Libya have already been referred for local and overseas employment.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the DOLE and other concerned government agencies are exerting all efforts to provide employment for displaced OFWs, new graduates and other jobseekers.

“We are continuously exerting all efforts to provide a vast array of productive and matched job opportunities for thousands of jobseekers, new graduates and displaced OFWs who will be flocking to the different job fair sites nationwide,” she said.

With the theme “Matuwid na Daan Tungo sa Kaunlaran Para sa Lahat,” Baldoz said DOLE hopes to facilitate more employment during the 2011 Labor Day celebration.

“Through these Labor Day job and livelihood fairs, we are offering workers not only the opportunity to find productive jobs, but also income earning enterprises,” Baldoz said.

To make the Labor Day celebration more meaningful, Baldoz said, DOLE also tied up with different private partners, including The STAR. The job and livelihood fairs and the scheduled meeting between President Aquino and trade unions in Malacañang are the two major activities initiated by DOLE to commemorate Labor Day.

Baldoz said that only non-cash benefits await workers on Labor Day.

She had earlier announced that there will be no announcement of a salary increase on Labor Day, but the government will be unveiling a package of non-wage benefits as a Labor Day gift to workers.