Filipinos hoping to find jobs abroad will be happy to realize that amidst the global financial crisis, there are still jobs available overseas according to statistics from Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). Although the demand dropped by 14 per cent this year, that figure is reason enough to be optimistic, moving towards economic recovery in the coming year.
There were 462,000 job orders from January to November this year, 80,000 fewer than what it was last year, according to POEA director Stella Banawis.
POEA administrator Jennifer Manalili attributed the decrease to the economic slowdown starting in the late 2008. “There are still many countries that are reeling from the crisis,” she said during press conference at her office on Thursday.
But POEA deputy administrator Hans Cacdac remains optimistic that next year will be better for OFWs. “We are hoping for that positive things will happen next year in the overseas employment sector.”
Top OFW Destinations in 2009
1. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia – 251,883 OFWs
2. United Arab Emirates with – 160,242 OFWs
4. Hong Kong – 75,742 OFWs
5. Qatar – 72,176 OFWs
6. Kuwait – 38,729 OFWs
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