Jobseekers flock to Manila job fair

MANILA, Philippines - Thousands of jobseekers went to a job fair sponsored by the Manila City government at the San Andres Sports Complex yesterday.

Eight-eight local firms listed 10,000 vacancies and 41 overseas employment agencies offered 25,000 overseas jobs during the fair, Mayor Joseph Estrada said. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz joined him in welcoming jobseekers.

In his speech, Estrada said the thousands of jobseekers at the fair supports a University of the Philippines study identifying Manila as having the largest number of unemployed and poor Filipinos in the country.

“Joined together, joblessness and poverty, crime will be there… A hungry stomach knows no law,” he said. Estrada said making jobs available to the poor and unemployed is part of his 10-point reform program for Manila.