The Philippines has improved its ranking by 11 spots since 2020 in terms of being a career destination for foreign jobseekers. It has climbed to 56th place in 2023, from 67th in 2020 and 66th in 2019.
However, talent in the Philippines still displays a strong interest in relocating abroad for work. This is according to Decoding Global Talent 2024 by Jobstreet by SEEK, Boston Consulting Group, and The Network.
How the Philippines Was Ranked as a Career Destination
Decoding Global Talent 2024 is based on a survey of 150,735 respondents in the workforce from 188 countries, with up to 91 percent of them living in their country of origin. Up to 38 percent of the global respondents also have a bachelor's degree.
According to the study, "The global perception of the Philippines as a place of employment for those seeking opportunities abroad has seen a notable uptick, with its ranking improving by 11 spots since 2020, reaching number 56 in 2023. However, it is still far compared to top global countries and ranks low within Southeast Asia (SEA)."
Global respondents gave the following reasons why they chose the Philippines for work:
welcoming culture and inclusiveness (52%)
perceived good quality of life (45%)
cost of living (43%)
quality of job opportunities (43%)
friendly environment (43%)
work permit processes (23%)
stability and security (23%)
The following factors, however, ranked low: opportunities for citizenship (16%), digitalization (16%), and healthcare (15%).
Among the job seekers expressing interest in working in the Philippines are those from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and even the U.S. and Canada.
Filipinos Still Want to Work Abroad
Despite these survey results among foreigners, up to 80 percent of Filipino talents have expressed readiness to relocate abroad for work. This number is higher than the rest of Southeast Asia, which has a 68 percent readiness, and globally, which has 63 percent readiness.
Reasons for Filipinos to work abroad:
Financial and economic reasons (80%)
general career considerations (65%)
better overall quality of life (64%)
concrete job offer (60%)
personal growth and cultural experience (53%)
better social system and healthcare (53%)
better educational and training opportunities (45%)
more interesting and challenging work (42%)
These numbers are all significantly higher than the SEA and Global average.
There is also a difference when it comes to the age of candidates. Globally, younger jobseekers tend to work abroad; but in the Philippines, this willingness to go to another country for a job cuts across all ages.
About 35 percent of Filipinos also said that they prefer to work abroad long-term, without plans of returning to the Philippines. This is another significant difference as overseas workers from neighboring countries keep three-year assignments and then return home.
The expertise of Filipino employees who are looking to relocate is very diverse. Up to 94 percent are in the craft professions, manual, and physical work; 90 percent are in research and laboratory; 87 percent are in engineering and technical industries; and 86 percent are in services and hospitality. Other significant fields include digitalization, education, business management, IT, design and art, and more.
Those in marketing and media are at the lowest percentage, with only 73 percent of them willing to work abroad.
Out of 80 percent of Filipino workers showing interest in international employment, 42 percent of them are hoping to move to Canada. Other countries they want to relocate to are Australia (39%), the U.S. (27%), Japan (23%), and New Zealand (21%).
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It should be noted that the pandemic affected these interests. Back in 2018 and 2020, readiness to work abroad was at 96 percent and 91 percent, showing a huge decline in 2024. Filipino professionals are now also more eager to work remotely for a foreign employer with an 84 percent interest, above Southeast Asia and global trends.
These statistics are based on a survey of 6,498 workforce participants in the Philippines, 76 percent of whom had a bachelor's degree.
Source: Philstar
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