The Philippine Insider

MANILA, Philippines- Amid the global uncertainty, the Philippine employment market remains buoyant, with the country having the highest numbers of companies seeking to hire at professional and managerial level in the region, a poll by international recruitment specialist Antal International showed.

The study "Global Snapshot" showed that 70 percent of the firms in the Philippines are currently hiring at managerial/professional level. The number of hiring companies is seen to rise as 76 percent expect to hire at managerial/professional level, compared to 3 percent which are currently letting people go and 10 percent reducing the number of its staff.

The hiring rate in the Philippines, Antal said, is one of the highest across the globe.

"So far the employment market in the Philippines appears to be relatively robust with current levels of hiring at professional and managerial level at a high 70 percent and expected to rise to 76 percent over the coming quarter. Firing levels are currently low although organizations expect them to rise slightly during the early part of 2009," Antal said.

Lori Lava-Coates, who runs Antal's operations in the Philippines, said the study indicates that employment in the Philippines remains "healthy".

"With such high levels of active recruitment recently, a slowdown is expected. And with high levels of recruitment coupled with high levels of letting staff go, the survey suggests that organizations have been replacing their existing talent. As this process is finishing, they are waiting to see what 2009 has in store," she said.

In the region, Singapore has the highest firing rate with 54 percent currently laying off managers and professionals and another 15 percent expecting to let managers and professionals go.

In China, meanwhile, hiring levels are down noticeably with only 43 percent currently hiring and another 20 percent expecting to hire.

The situation is the same with India, where only 29 percent of companies are hiring professionals and managers and another 43 percent looking to hire.

The Antal International "Global Snapshot" is a quarterly survey of hiring and firing trends in some of the world's most important employment markets and in those likely to join this group over the coming decade.

The report covered the period of winter 2008/09 and is based upon material sourced from over 2,700 businesses in commerce, industry and the financial services sector in 107 countries in four continents.

Founded in 1993, Antal International is a management and professional requirements with a particular focus on the sourcing and retention of candidates at middle and senior level. It is also one of the first recruitment organizations to devote substantial resources to emerging markets, the company now has 52 offices in 28 countries.

To view the complete data of Antal's "Global Snapshot" study, click here. (To download, right-click, Save links as.., or Save target as..)

Sources: GMANews.TV, Yahoo Philippines, Antal International
Image credit: DOLE-OSHC