The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is set to offer close to 200,000 employment opportunities to jobseekers during its nationwide Labor Day job fairs on Friday, May 1, 2026.
Massive Job Offerings
In a media briefing, DOLE spokesman Lennard Serrano announced that they have already secured 190,825 job offers from 2,274 participating employers for the May 1 activities. "We are really intensifying our employment facilitation services so that our countrymen will have the opportunity to have decent and quality jobs," Serrano said.
There are now a total of 90 designated job fair sites across all regions of the country. The list of Labor Day job fair sites can be viewed via the DOLE's official Facebook page. "We have scheduled job fairs in almost all provinces," Serrano added.
Top Sectors and Job Openings
The department identified the top participating sectors as wholesale and retail, manufacturing, construction, business process outsourcing (BPO), and accommodation and food service. Among the most in-demand positions are stock clerks and sales associates for retail; production operators and production workers for manufacturing; carpenters, foremen, and steelmen for construction; customer service representatives for BPO; and service crew, line cooks, and baristas for hospitality.
Jobseekers are advised to come prepared. "They are encouraged to bring multiple copies of their application documents, including resumes and valid identification cards, to facilitate faster and more efficient processing," Serrano said.
Wage Hike Calls Intensify
Meanwhile, workers' organizations are pressing the government to raise wage rates amid soaring prices of basic commodities and services due to the crisis in the Middle East. In a statement ahead of their Labor Day protest actions, labor groups Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), Federation of Free Workers (FFW), and Partido Manggagawa (PM) renewed their calls for a P200 legislated wage hike.
"On Labor Day, workers raise one clear demand: a P200/day wage hike nationwide toward a living wage," said the FFW. "Labor groups are demanding for a P200 wage hike," said PM. "To immediately help minimum wage earners and the middle class, we need a P200 daily minimum wage increase," said TUCP.
The groups warned that economic managers should rethink their "old lines" of opposing such a wage increase, saying they are no longer acceptable to workers. "Workers must be paid a wage that allows them to live a truly human life and to fulfill their family obligations in a worthy manner," said FFW.
Otherwise, workers said they will have no other recourse but to bring their demands to the streets. "The patience of the Filipino working class has run out. No more appeals. What comes next is collective pressure, escalating actions, and sustained disruption until concrete action on this long-overdue key legislation is forced," said TUCP.
PM said several labor groups under the National Wage Coalition are set to hold a unified march from Welcome Rotonda and España Boulevard going to Mendiola in Manila on Friday, while other workers are expected to join nationwide protests, particularly in Cebu, Bacolod, and Iloilo.
