IT is graduation season in the Philippines, marking a significant transition in the lives of recent graduates as they enter the workforce. Some might have been preparing their resumes and work portfolios, while others focus on learning more about the job market.
If one is in search of popular jobs, online job portal Jobstreet by SEEK has released its latest data about the most in-demand professions in the Philippines for the first half of 2025.
Topping the list is accounting, which accounts for 11.81% of total job postings. Despite the high demand for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)-related courses, Jobstreet reported that the supply of qualified accounting professionals still does not meet market demand.
If one does not see themselves in the accounting field, they can try looking for jobs in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry, which makes up 11.14% of total job advertisements.
Sales comes third (10.10%), followed by call center and customer service (9.98%), manufacturing, transport, and logistics (8.12%), administration and office support (6.43%), and retail and consumer products (5.40%).
Marketing and communications and human resources and recruitment both comprise 5.09% of job listings.
Completing the top 10 in-demand jobs list is engineering with 4.74%.
Jobstreet noted a significant increase in job vacancies in the sales and marketing and communications industries over the past three months.
The company attributed this growth to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), which the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) projected to jump from 5.4% in the first quarter to 6.2% in the second quarter.
The increase in job postings also comes as thousands of fresh graduates enter the workforce. Entry-level positions are offered to new jobseekers on the Jobstreet by SEEK platform.
Unemployment rate rises in March
Last month, the PSA reported that the country’s unemployment rate slightly rose to 3.9% in March 2025 from 3.8% in February 2025, which translates to 1.93 million unemployed Filipinos.
The labor force participation rate in March was recorded at 62.9 percent, which is equivalent to 49.96 million Filipinos aged 15 years old and over who were either employed or unemployed. This was lower than the recorded 51.15 million and 51.09 million individuals in the labor force in March 2024 and February 2025, respectively.
Meanwhile, there were 48.02 employed individuals in March 2025, which translates to a 96.1% employment rate. This was slightly lower than the 96.2% employment rate in February 2025, or 49.15 million employed individuals.
The PSA also reported that 6.44 million of the 48.02 million employed individuals sought additional work hours or more jobs to increase their income.
In Metro Manila, the current daily minimum wage rate for Filipino employees in the private sector is now P645 from P610. But with the continuous increase in prices of goods and services in the Philippines, many millennials and Gen Zs, especially those supporting a family, are taking on side hustles to boost their income and gain more work experience.
