Overview of Hiring Activity
The Philippines’ online hiring activity declined by 5% month-on-month in November 2025, signalling a softer demand environment as employers remain cautious on headcount expansion.
The near-term momentum also weakened, with hiring down 11% over the last 3 months. While the 6-month trend is relatively steadier (−4%), overall activity remains 7% lower year-on-year, indicating that the market is stabilising in pockets but not broadly recovering.
Beneath the headline dip, hiring remains uneven: Advertising & Media continues to accelerate strongly, while Healthcare stands out with solid year-on-year growth at the industry level, contrasting with sharper declines in Education, Retail, and customer-facing functions.
Hiring Trends by Industry (YoY change)
Industry trends show a split market: a few sectors are expanding, but several large segments remain under pressure.
In demand
- Health Care (+10%)
Hiring remains strong, supported by sustained demand for clinical and support roles, alongside ongoing capacity needs.
- Advertising, Market Research, PR, Media & Entertainment (+8%)
The sector continues to expand, backed by brand activity and digital content/campaign requirements.
- Engineering, Construction & Real Estate (+6%)
Positive momentum suggests steady project activity and infrastructure-linked hiring.
- BFSI (+3%) and Logistics/Courier/Freight/Transportation/Import-Export/Shipping (+3%)
Both sectors show measured growth, supported by operational continuity and financial services demand.
- Others (+2%)
Smaller segments remain marginally positive, indicating resilience in niche categories.
Facing challenges
- Education (−40%)
Despite a +5% MoM spike, the sector remains sharply lower YoY, pointing to structural weakness and a high base effect.
- Retail (−31%)
One of the steepest declines, reflecting cautious consumer conditions and limited expansion.
- BPO/ITES (−11%)
Near-term softness (−6% MoM, −14% over 3M) suggests slower demand and hiring recalibration.
- IT, Telecom/ISP (−10%) and Production/Manufacturing/Automotive (−10%)
Ongoing moderation indicates selective hiring and controlled replacement cycles. - Hospitality (−10%)
Slight +1% MoM improvement, but YoY remains pressured, pointing to lean staffing models.
- Consumer Goods/FMCG cluster (−7%)
Weakness reflects cautious expansion and softer consumption-linked hiring.
Hiring Trends by Functional Area (YoY change)
Functional hiring remains mixed: some white-collar and tech functions show momentum, while customer-facing and commercial roles are under significant pressure.
In demand
- Software, Hardware, Telecom (+5%)
Strong short-term momentum (+5% MoM, +11% over 3M, +10% over 6M) indicates improving demand for tech talent despite broader market softness.
- Engineering/Production/Real Estate (+1%)
Stable demand aligns with the modest rise seen in the construction and real estate industry trend.
Facing challenges
- Sales & Business Development (−35%)
The steepest functional decline, indicating continued caution in expanding frontline commercial capacity.
- Hospitality & Travel (−12%) and Health Care roles (−12%)
While the healthcare industry is up, role-level hiring is softer—suggesting concentrated demand in specific sub-functions rather than broad-based. - Customer Service (−7%)
Significant near-term weakness (−8% MoM, −11% over 3M) points to reduced service staffing or efficiency-driven models.
- Purchase/Logistics/Supply Chain (−2% YoY; −11% over 3M)
Short-term contraction suggests temporary cooling even as the logistics industry trend remains positive.
- Others (−9%)
Broad moderation continues across miscellaneous roles.
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.
