More new jobs filled in late 2011

MANILA, Philippines—The number of jobs filled in Metro Manila’s top enterprises continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace, in the fourth quarter of 2011.

The rate of hiring also outpaced the rate of job loss, according to data from the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics (BLES).

In its report, the agency said that for every 1,000 enterprise workers in the National Capital Region, 104 new hires were added, while 85 had quit or had been fired.

Job growth peaked in the sector of real estate, renting and business activities, while job loss was highest in mining and quarrying. The same situation had been recorded in the previous quarter.

The data is part of the BLES survey of 700 large corporations in NCR, which were drawn from the 2010 edition of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s list of “Top 25,000 Corporations.”

The rate of growth in employment, or labor turnover, settled at a net of 1.88 percent. This means that 19 new workers had been added for every 1,000. The hiring rate was recorded at 10.38 percent while separation rate stood at 8.5 percent.

Also, the net growth in employment among large firms from October to December 2011 represents a slowdown from the 2.51 percent reported in the preceding quarter. It was slower than the 4.05 percent seen in the same quarter of 2010.

Based on the survey, large enterprises took in more new employees to fill vacated posts—not because the firms were engaged in expanding their businesses.

As for job displacement, people who were laid off outnumbered those who decided to quit, as observed in 5 of the 14 industry sectors covered by the study.

Firing was most rampant in the sectors of mining and quarrying (17.1 percent of total); construction (7.7 percent); and manufacturing (4.7 percent).

The most number of workers who had quit came from hotels and restaurants (5.7 percent); real estate, renting and business activities (5.5 percent); and private education (4.7 percent).

Other sectors that the study covered include agriculture and forestry; fishing; electricity; gas and water supply; wholesale and retail trade; transport, storage and communications; and health and social work.