M. East still seen as top market for OFWs in 2013-A A +A
Monday, December 31, 2012
WITH economic crisis still hovering over the United States (US) and Europe, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) still sees the Middle East countries as the top market for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
According to POEA Administrator Hans Cacdac, Middle East countries could remain as the top hosts of OFWs since the economies of countries in the region are still booming.
“We still foresee the economic challenges being faced by Western countries, particularly the US and European countries, in 2013. That is why we believe that the Middle East market will remain strong for OFWs,” said Cacdac.
But because of this, the labor official said they are lowering their target OFW deployment for 2013 from more than one million to only about a million.
“Our projection is slightly lower since we have somewhat of a limited market compared to previous years,” said Cacdac.
POEA records show that from January to November this year, there are almost 1.5 million deployed OFWs.
Of those deployed this year, the POEA said 384,517 are new hires while the other 776,844 are rehires.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was the top destination for OFWs last year; followed by the United Arab Emirates; Singapore; Hong Kong; Qatar; Kuwait; Taiwan; Italy; Bahrain; and Malaysia.
To note, the US and European countries are experiencing economic crises resulting to limited job opportunities for both local and foreign workers. (HDT/Sunnex)