Marcos eyes monthly job fairs outside NCR

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is eyeing to conduct monthly job fairs in areas outside Metro Manila to provide Filipinos with employment opportunities.

Marcos said this as he graced the Career Con 2025 in Pasay City.

“Kaya’t ito medyo pilot project ito. Kung maganda ang maging resulta, ang plano talaga namin ay gagawa kami ng ganito bawat – ng isang ganito bawat buwan para mapuntahan,” Marcos said in his speech.

(This is just a pilot project. If the result will be good, we plan to conduct this on a monthly basis.)

“Hindi lamang dito sa Maynila kung hindi sa iba’t ibang lugar din. At para naman kahit na hindi na – para hindi na kailangan mapunta rito sa Maynila, sa NCR at puntahan natin ‘yung mga nais mag-apply sa iba’t ibang probinsya sa labas,” he added.

(It’s not just here in Manila but in other areas as well so that others will no longer go to Manila. Let’s go to other provinces where there are also applicants.)

Marcos said the number of unemployed Filipinos continues to decrease, adding that his government will exhaust all measures to make the number even lower.

''Pakaunti na lang nang pakaunti ang hindi empleyadong Pilipino ngunit hindi pa kami tapos doon,'' he said.

(The number of unemployed Filipinos continues to decrease and we're not yet done with that.)

The Philippine Statistics Authority earlier said jobless individuals, ages 15 and above, stood at 1.66 million in November 2024. The figure was lower than the 1.97 million jobless in October 2024.

Organized by online job portal, Jobstreet by SEEK, the event aims to bring together job seekers, industry experts, and top companies “for an unparalleled opportunity to connect and thrive in their professional journeys.”

The event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today, with more than 100 hiring companies spanning various industries.

This seeks to redefine the job-seeking experience by uniting employers and jobseekers, creating a dynamic platform to explore new opportunities, forging meaningful connections, and discussing the future of employment.

In a separate ambush interview, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said the job fair spans across different sectors such as IT, tourism, hotel and restaurant, as well as overseas jobs.

This event will also help those seeking employment on how to create resumes, especially for first time job seekers.

Laguesma also expressed hope that the job fair would help those affected by the POGO ban, particularly the internet gambling licensee (IGL), to find new jobs.

''Hopefully ma-qualify din ang ating IGL affected workers nang sa gayon eh makatransition sila smoothly sa bagong hanapbuhay,'' Laguesma said.

(Hopefully our IGL qualified workers will also qualify and this will help them in their transition of finding new jobs.) — RSJ, GMA Integrated News