OFW deployment up 11.7%

MANILA, Philippines - More Filipino workers were hired in various countries abroad despite the prevailing global financial crisis, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported yesterday.

POEA chief Jennifer Manalili said the deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) for the past 11 months went up by over 130,000 compared to the same period last year.

“From January to November this year, we have recorded a total overseas deployment of 1,284,133 or 11.7 percent higher than the 1,149,429 figure in 2008,” Manalili said.

Based on the POEA data, the deployment of land-based workers accounted for 8.8 percent growth while that of sea-based workers posted a 22.5 percent increase.

More than half or 666,158 of those employed abroad were re-hires as new hires registered a drop of 7.6 percent in hiring.

“Our new hires dropped from 346,871 in 2008 to 320,508 this year which we believe was the manifestation of the global financial crisis, particularly in the manufacturing sector,” Manalili pointed out.

She noted that Taiwan and United Arab Emirates, which were severely affected by the financial slump, also recorded a drop in hiring this year.

Hiring of Filipino workers in Taiwan, mostly factory workers, dipped by 22.1 percent while employment in the UAE dropped by 1.4 percent.

Despite the drop in hiring in several countries, Manalili said the country still managed to post sharp increase in overseas deployment.

“There are many factors for the growth, but we see it as a continued preference of foreign employers to hire Filipino skilled workers,” she said.

Manalili expressed confidence that the country would be able to deploy at least a million OFWs abroad in the coming year.

Meanwhile, a group of OFWs said the worsening socio-economic conditions in the country forced many Filipinos to leave and work abroad.

To commemorate the International Migrants Day yesterday, Migrante staged a protest action to pressure the government to address the plight of OFWs.

Migrante said thousands of OFWs are languishing in various jails abroad, some even face beheading, but the government is not lifting a finger to help them. – Mayen Jaymalin