The Philippines: Economy and workforce

It’s more fun in the Philippines! The ever-present slogan of the official tourist office of the Philippines applies to tourists – but does it also apply to the business world? I have the answer to that question: decidedly, yes. Economic growth throughout South East Asia is strong, and businesses throughout the region should be paying particular attention to growth here. 

On the fast track for growth

According to the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects report, the Philippines is on the fast track for growth, among the top in Southeast Asia with an expected growth of 6.6% by 2020. It’s a country with high growth potential, and overall excitement and energy radiating from it. That energy is attracting some of the top professionals in fast-growing industries with it.

The biggest industries are currently services, consumer and industrial, and the growth within these industries is increasing every year, with services such as shared service centres (SSC) and business process outsourcing (BPO) making up a large part of that growth. Remittance business remains to be number 1 in the revenue sector for the Philippines economy. While most of the activity is focused in Manila, the government is doing what it can to spread the wealth to other key cities in the Philippines, such as Cebu City (the second largest city in the Philippines), Davao, Laguna, Batangas, Clark City, Subic City and Baguio.

The current job market

With many MNCs opening offices in Manila, the question becomes: what can both organisations and professionals expect in the current job market?

The job market has been really lucrative; more and more clients are seeking to recruit top talents to join their organisation. As the economy soars higher, demand on organisations and their employees increases as well.  Organisations have to be more productive and must upskill their resources to cope with the market change and demand.

Commercially, our biggest economy is the exportation of our talent: globally and wherever you go, you will see Filipinos providing world class service– be it in the medical field, engineering or business arena. As more opportunities become available in Manila, more of our talent abroad comes back to work here to contribute back to society, make a difference and boost the growing economy.

Workforce ethics

Numbers of spectacular growth aside, it’s Filipinos themselves who make the best case for doing business in the Philippines. They are hard-working, gritty, determined and fiercely loyal. Filipinos by nature are passionate, hardworking, sincere and helpful. We have the grit and understand what it takes to work hard to elevate ourselves and people around us.

The way that Filipino professionals progress through their career is generally well defined by their age group. The older generations are loyal to companies where they are happy to stay for years, looking forward to retirement at 65 or 70 years old. The younger generation of millennials and Gen Y’s are more interested in new challenges, taking risks and moving to new environments, sometimes every 2-3 years. It’s up to companies to decide whether the roles they are looking to fill would best be suited for a more experienced and senior professional who has proven track record and tested abilities, or newer candidates who count their willingness to experiment and innovate processes as their strongest assets. 

Additionally, English is spoken widely in the Philippines, reducing the number of lost in translation issues when working with MNCs and the government gives good corporate tax rates to encourage investment.

Why use Michael Page

With a large population, Filipino professionals are abundant, but the challenge can be finding the right set of skills and experience to match the unique roles that each company has. Michael Page provides quality candidates versus a large quantity, and we are able to search through the pool of eager candidates to find the right fit for each organisation.

Aside from finding the top professionals to hire, Michael Page is able to provide advice in terms of new business set-up and how to partner with the right organisations and the right channels. Michael Page is also able to provide advice on labour laws and other legal matters.

Contact us for more information and insights about doing business in the Philippines.