Job vacancies in Manila’s largest retail firms up by 13% in ’12

Large companies that operate retail establishments and restaurants in Metro Manila rode through the stronger-than-expected economic growth last year while understaffed, accounting for about one-fourth of job vacancies last year.

The Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics reported that a quarterly average of 85,397 jobs were available in large enterprises in the National Capital Region in 2012.

This was 13.3 percent higher than the quarterly average of about 75,000 reported in 2011, the BLES said.

“It could be that a number of job vacancies have remained unfilled during (one) quarter and were carried over to the succeeding quarters particularly those which are considered hard to fill,” the agency added.

Vacancies were largest in the first quarter last year at some 97,000, but the volume shrank to about 89,000 in the second quarter and further to 74,000 in the third quarter.

The number “then rose again to 82,000 in the last quarter in anticipation of (an) increase in sales during the holiday season,” the BLES said.

The BLES report, which is part of its Labor Turnover Survey, covered 763 large enterprises that were included in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s 2010 List of Top Corporations.

Considered as industry trend setters, the hiring activities of these companies indicate labor demand in the formal sector.

For the entire year, vacancies for shop salespersons and product demonstrators were on top of the list of “hot jobs,” with 10,397 slots every quarter or 12 percent of total.

Slots for waiters/waitresses and bartenders were No. 2 with 9,209 vacancies or 11 percent of total.

“Demand for this (second) type of occupations was driven by the robust growth in the country’s tourism industry,” the BLES said.

Related data from the National Statistical Coordination Board show that in 2012, when the domestic economy expanded by 6.6 percent, household and final consumption expenditures (which used to be called personal consumption expenditures) grew by 6.1 percent.

Others in the BLES’ list of top 10 job vacancies for last year were for cashiers and ticket clerks; pharmacists; sales representatives; call center agents; systems analysts and designers; accounting and bookkeeping clerks; office secretaries, and computer engineers.