MANILA – Jobstreet Philippines said Friday it has launched dedicated microsites for the provinces of Cebu, Iloilo and the entire Davao Region to better connect opportunities and jobseekers to boost employment.

With this hyperlocal initiative, jobseekers from Cebu, Iloilo and Davao can search for opportunities in their localities through the dedicated microsites within the jobs portal, Jobstreet said in virtual briefing.

“More Filipinos are going back to the probinsya (provinces). Work-from-home set up actually enabled them to work in the provinces while connected to their jobs in Manila,” Jobstreet country manager Philip Gioca told reporters.

“We see that because of the recovery that is happening, a lot of companies are now offering WFH and flexible work arrangements, and therefore jobs openings are starting to pickup in these cities,” he added.

In 2021, Jobstreet recorded 13-percent growth in average site visits from Cebu, 56 percent from Davao and 44 percent from Iloilo, it said.

As of March, job offerings in Central Visayas have grown by 9 percent while Western Visayas opportunities jumped 44 percent, and the Davao region saw a 26-percent increase, it said.

In Cebu, for example, call center, IT-enabled services and Business Process Outsourcing are considered the top industries in terms of job opportunities, followed by manufacturing and production, health care and medical, education as well as construction, building and engineering, the jobs portal said.

The average monthly salary for the province is at P31,487, it said.

In Davao, the average salary is at P28,500 with call center, IT and BPOs as the top industries, followed by health care, education, food and beverage, catering and restaurants as well as retail and merchandise.

Top industries for Iloilo, meanwhile, are healthcare and medical, call center, IT and BPO, education, construction and food and beverage, with salaries averaging at P27,370.

As flexible arrangements allow talents to work for firms in Manila while staying in the provinces, salaries are also likely to become more competitive in the countryside, Jobstreet senior sales manager Ryan Tordesillas said.

Jobstreet is also dispelling the notion that the online portal is limited to the National Capital Region, he said.

“This is our effort to communicate better to our kababayan in the province. For the longest time, the perception has been for NCR. For Metro Manila. By going hyperlocal we aim to connect better and say there are jobs for you in the province,” he said.

The coronavirus pandemic, and the mobility restrictions it entails, has paved the way for companies and employees to embrace flexible work arrangements.

With the evolution of the WFH setup, firms in various provinces have also expanded their offerings, Jobstreet said.

Gioca said they are looking at opening more microsites for other provinces such as Pampanga and Cavite.

At least 4.2 million Filipinos were jobless in February, according to the Philippine Statistics Authorities' Labor Force Survey. Many Filipinos have also lost their jobs as businesses trims operations, temporarily close and even fold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The jobs portal announced it would hold a virtual job fair on May 1 to 3 in partnership with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

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