Demand for Filipino workers abroad dropped 14 percent to 80,000 this year because of the lingering effects of the global financial crisis, according to the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
From the 542,000 in January to November 2008, job orders this year during the same period decreased to 462,000, according to POEA director Stella Banawis.
The same POEA data also showed that the number of new hires this year fell to 320,508 from the 346,871 in 2008.
POEA administrator Jennifer Manalili attributed the decrease to the economic slowdown starting in the late 2008. “There are still many countries that are reeling from the crisis," she said during press conference at her office on Thursday.
But POEA deputy administrator Hans Cacdac remains optimistic that next year will be better for OFWs. “We are hoping for that positive things will happen next year in the overseas employment sector."
Middle East countries remain to be the top destinations for Filipino workers this year. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia still leads with 251,883 OFWs, followed by the United Arab Emirates with 160,242; Hong Kong with 75,742; Qatar with 72,176; and Kuwait with 38,729
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