Online hiring in the Philippines stagnant in August — jobs website

Online hiring in the Philippines seemed to be at a standstill in August compared to data from the same period last year, according to data released by employment website Monster.com on Wednesday.

"Online recruitment activities in the Philippines stayed stagnant in August when compared to year-ago levels," Monster.com said in an emailed statement.

This comes as the Monster Employment Index (MEI) — a monthly gauge of online job hiring by Monster.com — was registed at 98 in August, unchanged from the same month in 2016, and slightly higher in July with 97 index rating.

Launched in May 2015, the MEI is a monthly analysis of online job posting activity in the Philippines, based on a real-time review of employer job opportunities online.

"[T]he growing dependence on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the rapid adoption of automation is posing a huge threat to numerous jobs in the country's most promising - BPO (business process outsourcing) sector," Sanjay Modi, managing director for APAC and Middle East of Monster.com, said in an emailed statement.

"The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) also warned that AI can potentially diminish 45 percent to 50 percent of the approximately 1.2 million Filipino employees of the BPO industry," Modi added.

Last year, Budget Secretary Benjamin M. Diokno said the administration is not keen on relying too much on the BPO sector as technological advancements may lead to a decline in its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP).

The BPO sector was one of the lowest growing industries during the month with a 1-percent decline in its MEI to 122 from last year's 123.

Declines were also noted in education (-8 percent), engineering and real estate (-7 percent), consumer goods (-4 percent), and health care (-2 percent).

"In spite of these challenges, universities, organizations, and the technology sector should consider this as a wake up call and invest more in educating students and employees to adapt to the changing nature of business by stepping up training and developing programs," Modi said.

During the month, the retail sector posted the biggest growth with 13 percent, followed by logistics with 7 percent, BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) with 6 percent, IT with 6 percent, and hospitality with 4 percent. — BAP, GMA News