MANILA - The United States under Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will likely hurt the the outsourcing industry in the Philippines, an industry leader said Thursday.

The conservative Trump, who is trailing Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, is expected to keep jobs in the US, putting pressure on companies that outsource operations to countries like the Philippines, said Joji Bian Ilagan, founding president of the Philippine Call Center and Outsourcing Alliance.

"That really is a wait and see for all of us," Ilagan told ANC's "Market Edge with Cathy Yang," referring to the Nov. 8 elections.

"When Trump was sending signals that if in case he wins, he would want to retain jobs in the United States and not bring them out and that could really affect the outsourcing business," she said.

Ilagan said the Philippines remains a "competitive" destination for outsourced operations, with a wide, English-speaking talent pool and low labor costs.

The Philippines is one of the world's top outsourcing destinations. On Thursday, the industry launched a six-year growth roadmap as it maintained resilience in the face of President Rodrigo Duterte's anti-US rhetoric.