Job hunters line up at the Labor Day job fair in Quezon City. Lady Vicencio, ABS-CBN News 

MANILA -  Thousands of jobseekers flocked to the Quezon City Hall for a Labor Day job fair organized by the Department of Labor and Employment-National Capital Region and the Quezon City Public Employment Service Office.

Around 4,000 applicants are hoping to land a job out of the 6,000 vacancies in domestic and overseas companies in this venue.

All over NCR, different job fairs are being held with around 64,000 vacancies available.

According to DOLE NCR, the top in-demand jobs for local employment are positions for customer service representatives, drivers, financial advisors, cashiers, and housekeeping staff. 

For overseas employment, there is a demand for nurses, therapists, dental assistants, truck drivers, and hotel and restaurant workers to be deployed in various countries including Taiwan, Poland, Turkey, USA, and Qatar.

DOLE-NCR Assistant Regional Director Jude Thomas Trayvilla said that a number of job seekers still prefer online work due to the intense heat. 

“Maraming mga gusto na online lalo na sa init ng panahon natin ngayon. Pero depende siguro sa nature ng trabaho nila kasi ‘yomg ibang aplikante natin mas gusto na face-to-face sa workplace at hindi rin nawawala ‘yong mga gustong sa bahay ginagawa ang obligations sa pagtatrabaho,” Trayvilla said.

(Many people want to work online, especially with the heat nowadays. But maybe it depends on the nature of their work because other applicants prefer to work face-to-face in the workplace and there are still those who want to stay at home while working.)

Some applicants looking for online work also mentioned traffic and public transportation in Metro Manila as one of the reasons why they are having second thoughts about applying for onsite work. 

Daniel Sipasip, applying for a housekeeping position, recalls the “hassle” he goes through every day when going to work.

“Pila sa MRT, oras ng gising, ang init pa mahaba ang nilalakad ko,” Sipasip said. 

(Long lines in MRT, having to wake up very early. I even have to walk for a long time and it’s hot outside.)