Overview of Hiring Activity
The Philippines’ online hiring activity declined 2% month-on-month in June 2026, the first monthly fall since March, even as the year-on-year figure climbed to 29%.
That annual gain warrants context. Hiring bottomed out in mid-2025, so the comparison is against the lowest reading of that year. The medium-term trend is more informative: activity is up 14% over the last 3 months and 25% over the last 6 months, confirming an underlying uptrend — but the six-month gain has narrowed from 37% in May, and the pace is easing.
Every industry and functional area the tracker monitors is now hiring above June 2025 levels. The strength, however, sits in logistics, hospitality, advertising, and retail rather than in outsourcing, where the industry body has paused its own 2026 workforce forecast mid-cycle while it reassesses how AI is reshaping entry-level work.
Hiring Trends by Industry (YoY change)
No industry recorded an annual decline — a reversal from May, when four did. The base effect explains much of the breadth, and the near-term readings show where the momentum has actually gone.
In demand
Logistics, Courier/Freight/Transportation, Import/Export, Shipping (+22%)
The strongest sector, up 7% over three months and 12% over six, riding a fast-growing e-commerce base and continued freight and warehousing investment.
Advertising, Market Research, PR, Media & Entertainment (+18%)
Heavy brand and platform spend continues to support the sector, though it fell 5% over the month — the steepest monthly drop of any industry.
Hospitality (+18%)
The sharpest reversal in the tracker, up 15% over six months. Accommodation and food services posted the largest annual job gain of any sub-sector in the national labour data.
Retail (+14%)
Resilient consumer spending and omnichannel expansion continue to support hiring, though the sector has given back 3% over both the last month and the last quarter.
Education (+14%)
The public-sector teaching recruitment drive that began earlier in the year is still visible, with a 15% gain over six months.
Engineering, Construction & Real Estate (+8%) and Production/Manufacturing, Automotive & Ancillary (+8%)
Both grew steadily on infrastructure and project activity, with manufacturing up 6% over three months.
BFSI (+6%) and Others (+6%)
BFSI returned to annual growth after several months of decline, while smaller mixed segments remain marginally positive.
IT, Telecom/ISP (+5%)
Back in positive territory, with tech demand increasingly migrating into in-house capability centres rather than the traditional IT industry line.
Facing challenges
BPO/ITES (+2% YoY, but −1% over 6M)
Turned positive for the first time this year and was the only industry to add hiring against the previous month, but the recovery is narrow. Growth is concentrated in higher-value capability-centre roles rather than voice, as AI absorbs entry-level, repeatable work.
Health Care (+1%)
Functionally flat against year-ago levels, with hiring down 2% over the month and 1% over three months despite the industry’s scale.
Consumer Goods/FMCG cluster (+1%)
Barely above year-ago levels, with the three-month trend slightly negative, reflecting cautious expansion in consumption-linked hiring.
Hiring Trends by Functional Area (YoY change)
All eleven functions are above year-ago levels, but the spread between the fastest and the slowest has widened, and the softest are those where the work is most easily automated.
In demand
Software, Hardware, Telecom (+16%)
Still pulling demand into application development, analytics, and engineering as global capability centres take a growing share of the IT-BPM pipeline.
Purchase/Logistics/Supply Chain (+16%)
Tracking the freight and warehousing build-out, and one of only three functions to gain ground over the month.
Engineering/Production/Real Estate (+12%)
Up 7% over three months and 10% over six, supported by sustained infrastructure work.
Finance & Accounts (+12%)
A core capability-centre function, with analysts, auditors, and hybrid fintech-and-compliance roles in demand.
Customer Service (+12%)
The surprise of the month, rising 5% over the month and 11% over three months after a year of flat readings. This suggests AI is redistributing voice work rather than removing it, with agents moving into escalation and oversight.
Others (+10%) and Marketing & Communications (+9%)
Both above year-ago levels, though marketing fell 5% over the month and 6% over three months.
Hospitality & Travel (+9%)
Rising alongside the hospitality industry, with steady demand across guest services and travel support functions.
Facing challenges
HR & Admin (+1% YoY, but −5% over 6M)
The only function still contracting over six months. Shared-services consolidation and the automation of routine administrative work continue to compress headcount.
Sales & Business Development (+1%)
Essentially flat year-on-year, indicating continued caution in expanding frontline commercial capacity.
Health Care roles (+5%)
Positive but softening, with hiring down over the month and the quarter — a reminder that industry-level strength does not always translate to role-level demand.
About the foundit Insights Tracker
The foundit Insights Tracker (fit) Philippines (formerly the Monster Employment Index) is a monthly benchmark of online hiring activity across the nation. By analysing millions of job postings, fit provides timely, data-led intelligence on recruitment trends across industries, occupations, and skill categories, helping organisations and talent navigate an evolving labour market.
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