Iloilo City recorded a surge in employment for the first quarter of 2025, with over 9,000 job seekers securing positions, according to data from the Public Employment Service Office (PESO).
From January to March, the city documented 7,075 job applicants in the Statistical Performance Reporting System (SPRS), with the highest volume in January at 2,737 applicants.
Of the 9,893 applicants referred for employment, 92.18% or 9,119 individuals were successfully hired, marking a significant placement rate for the city.
The majority of job seekers, at 54.7%, were women, while men accounted for 45.3% of the applicant pool.
According to PESO, the agency also logged 3,879 applicants in the PESO Employment Information System (PEIS), which gathered data from six job fairs, 14 local recruitment events, and seven special recruitment activities.
Most applicants were single, comprising 3,657 of the total, with the largest age groups being 20–24 years old at 1,419 and 25–34 years old at 1,381.
Of those who applied, 2,988 had no prior work experience, highlighting the strong turnout of first-time job seekers.
A majority of the applicants, or 2,141 individuals, were college graduates, although applicants with other educational backgrounds also participated in recruitment events.
The most in-demand jobs included customer service representatives, sales associates, and service crew members, reflecting consistent local labor market needs.
Local hiring mirrored demand, with the highest number of placements made for customer service, food service, and bagger positions.
However, employers reported difficulty in filling roles such as instructors, accountants, drivers, civil engineers, and pharmacists — positions typically requiring specialized training or credentials.
In addition to employment placements, the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) emergency employment program, TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers), provided work for 4,137 beneficiaries.
More than half of the TUPAD beneficiaries were women, and most were aged between 25 and 34.
Married individuals comprised the largest civil status group among beneficiaries, with 2,274 participants. (Janelle Marie Belarde/Iloilo City PIO)
