Central Visayas records close to 58,000 job vacancies in 2024

Local

NEARLY 58,000 job vacancies surfaced across Central Visayas in 2024.

This was based on the latest labor survey that underscores continuing hiring gaps and skill shortages in the region, the Philippine Statistics Authority Central Visayas (PSA-7) said.

Wilma Perante, regional director of PSA-7, on Wednesday, Nov. 26, said that establishments reported a total of 57,325 vacancies from 1,978 firms with 10 or more workers.

Based on the results of the 2023/2024 Integrated Survey on Labor and Employment (ISLE), more than a quarter of these positions were hard-to-fill due to a lack of applicants, high salary expectations, or applicants’ insufficient skills.

The ISLE data show that Central Visayas employed 570,000 workers, equivalent to 9.3 percent of the country’s 6.14 million workers in formal establishments in 2024.

Of all employed persons in the region, 99.4 percent were paid employees, including 512,010 rank-and-file workers (90.6 percent), 31,093 supervisors/foremen (5.5 percent), and 22,118 managers/executives (3.9 percent).

Employers classified 81.3 percent of rank-and-file workers as regular employees, while 18.7 percent held non-regular positions such as probationary, contractual, casual, seasonal, or apprentice roles.

Women made up 54 percent of workers, while men accounted for 46 percent.

Young workers aged 15–30 formed 47.6 percent of the workforce, while elderly workers aged 60–65 represented 1.2 percent.

The region also recorded 19,932 workers under alternative work arrangements, ranging from telecommuting to rotation schedules, and 53,121 agency-hired workers, mostly absorbed in janitorial/security, production/assembly, and marketing.

Training participation remained active, with 1,562 establishments providing job-related training in 2023.

Meanwhile, employers spent an average of P1,873 per rank-and-file worker, P3,721 per supervisor, and P4,602 per manager/executive. Local private training institutions remained the top providers.

Workplace safety measures were widely implemented, as 7,635 establishments (94.4 percent) adopted preventive and control practices.

Establishments reported 1,198 occupational accidents and 2,140 injury cases, with 95.3 percent classified as non-fatal. Temporary incapacity accounted for 35.8 percent of all injuries.

Central Visayas documented 5,027 occupational disease cases, with back pain, neck-shoulder pain, and other musculoskeletal conditions topping the list.

Establishments also reported 47 commuting accidents, which injured 4,607 workers.(MyTVCebu)