PHL online hiring up 14% in March —Monster.com

Online hiring in the Philippines has increased by 14 percent in March on the back of the economy's expansion and investors' positive outlook on the country's macroeconomic fundamentals, data released by online jobs portal Monster.com showed Tuesday.

In its Southeast Asia Online Recruitment Trends report for the first quarter, Monster.com said that the Monster Employment Index (MEI), a monthly gauge of online job posting activity in the Philippines, registered a 14 percent growth in March year-on-year.

"The spike in hiring activity at the start of 2018 comes as no surprise for the Philippines, given its overall positive hiring trend earlier in 2017, driven partly by positive investor outlook on the country's macroeconomic fundamentals," Monster.com said in its report.

"Job-generating foreign direct investments, a key economic driver for the Philippines, also witnessed strong growth in January," it said.

It said that foreign direct investments allowed businesses to expand and create more jobs across the countries.

"Due to economic expansion, the Philippines maintains a positive outlook on online hiring for the remainder of 2018," Monster.com said.

Citing a study by Microsoft and IDC Asia-Pacific, the online recrutiment portal said the Philippines is expected to grow by $8 billion in its gross domestic product this year on the back of expansion of digital transformation.

"This will likely boost job creation, salaries and training opportunities, pointing towards an even more promising hiring growth prospects ahead," it said.

The Monster Employment Index is a monthly analysis of online job posting activity in the Philippines, based on real-time review of employment opportunities culled from online career outlets. —Ted Cordero/KG, GMA News