Overview of hiring activity
The foundit Insights Tracker for the Philippines rose 41% year-on-year in July 2026, the fastest annual pace in more than a year. Much of that headline reflects the comparison month rather than fresh strength: hiring reached its 2025 low in July, so this year’s reading is measured against the weakest base of the cycle. On a month-on-month basis, activity recovered 5%, reversing the small dip recorded in June.
The underlying trend remains firm. Hiring is up 14% over the past three months and 24% over the past six — evidence of a sustained recovery rather than a one-month spike — even as the six-month pace has eased slightly from June. The rebound this month was also broad: eleven of the twelve industries the Index tracks added hiring over the month, against just one in June.
Growth is broad-based. All 13 industries and all 11 functional areas monitored by the Index hired above their July 2025 levels. The Philippines remains one of Southeast Asia’s faster-growing economies, supported by domestic consumption, remittances, and public infrastructure spending, with the strongest demand concentrated in hospitality, logistics, and advertising rather than in outsourcing.
Hiring trends by industry (year-on-year change)
Hospitality, logistics, and advertising led the market in July, while the recovery in outsourcing broadened even as the sector’s own outlook stayed cautious.
Hospitality (+30%) led all industries, extending the sharpest turnaround in the tracker as accommodation and food services continued to post the largest annual job gains in the national labour data.
Logistics, Courier/Freight/Transportation, Shipping (+26%) followed, carried by a fast-growing e-commerce base and continued investment in freight, warehousing, and last-mile networks.
Advertising, Media and Entertainment (+24%) held third on heavy brand and platform spend.
Retail (+13%) and BPO/ITES (+10%) anchored the middle of the table. BPO/ITES has returned to double-digit annual growth, but the expansion is concentrated in higher-value capability-centre roles rather than voice work: the industry association has paused its 2026 workforce forecast while it assesses how AI is absorbing repeatable, entry-level tasks.
Production/Manufacturing (+10%), Engineering, Construction and Real Estate (+10%), IT, Telecom/ISP (+8%), and Education (+8%) all recorded steady annual gains, a sign the recovery now extends well beyond the fastest movers.
BFSI (+7%), Health Care (+5%), and Consumer Goods/FMCG (+2%) brought up the rear, each clearing its year-ago level only narrowly as demand in banking, clinical hiring, and staples stayed subdued. The breadth of growth is genuine, but it still rests on last year’s low mid-cycle base rather than on a fresh acceleration.
Hiring trends by functional area (year-on-year change)
Hiring activity exceeded year-ago levels in all 11 functional areas in July 2026, with technology, engineering, and supply-chain roles leading and administrative functions trailing.
Software, Hardware & Telecom (+22%) led, deepening demand for application development, analytics, and engineering as global capability centres took a larger share of the IT-BPM pipeline.
Engineering/Production and Real Estate (+21%) followed on sustained infrastructure activity, and Purchase/Logistics/Supply Chain (+20%) tracked the same freight and warehousing build-out visible on the industry side.
Health Care roles, Finance & Accounts, and Hospitality & Travel each grew by about 15% — the first on clinical and allied-health demand, the second as analysts, auditors, and hybrid fintech-and-compliance roles stayed in demand across capability centres, and the third alongside its parent industry.
Customer Service (+12%) added to a year of gains, a sign that AI is redirecting voice work toward escalation and oversight rather than removing it.
Marketing & Communications (+8%), Sales & Business Development (+5%), and HR & Admin (+2%) rounded out the table. HR & Admin remains the weakest function and, with Marketing, one of only two still below its level of six months ago, as shared-services consolidation and the automation of routine administrative work keep headcount in check.
Overall, growth is broad, but the spread between the fastest and slowest functions has widened, with the softest concentrated where the work is most easily automated.
About foundit
foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME) is a leading talent platform that provides comprehensive hiring solutions across India, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. With over 20 years of experience, it has transformed the recruitment landscape through AI-driven job matching, candidate insights, and end-to-end hiring support. Serving millions of jobseekers and thousands of employers, foundit is committed to enabling smarter and faster hiring decisions across the region.
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