Filipina caregivers and nurses are expected to play an increasingly important role in sustaining the care systems of aging Asia-Pacific economies such as Australia, Japan, and Singapore, according to a study by government think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).
But while the growing demand for Filipino care workers creates jobs and generates remittances, it could also deepen shortages in the Philippines’ own health and care sectors, creating what researchers describe as a ‘care deficit.’
The PIDS Discussion Paper, titled ‘The Future of Work in Aging Societies: Filipina Migrant Workers in the Asia-Pacific Value Chains,’ and authored by Jean Clarisse T. Carlos, Jocelyn O. Celero, and Evangeline Katigbak-Montoya, said care work can no longer be viewed simply as overseas employment.
Instead, the authors argue that migrant care work has become an essential component of cross-border regional value chains as Asia-Pacific economies grapple with aging populations, labor shortages, and rising demand for long-term care.
‘Asia-Pacific economies become increasingly care-intensive,’ the study noted, the role of migrant workers will become even more critical in meeting the region’s growing care needs.
Growing demand
The Philippines has emerged as a major supplier of skilled care workers as labor shortages deepen across the region.
The authors pointed out that Singapore employed about 250,000 foreign domestic workers in 2021, around half of whom were Filipinas. More than 3,000 Filipino nurses and caregivers have been deployed to Japan under the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement, while Australia employs an estimated 10,000 Filipino healthcare professionals.
The country also has a sustained pipeline of women entering the caregiving profession.
Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority’s 2023 Labor Force Survey and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the authors said more than 85 percent of those enrolled in and graduating from caregiving training programs are women. Women also make up the overwhelming majority of the country’s care workforce.
Filipino care workers are sought after overseas for their English proficiency, caregiving skills, and cultural adaptability, according to the study.
These qualities have helped make Filipinos a key source of workers for healthcare, eldercare, and domestic care services in countries facing their own demographic and labor challenges.
The cost of migration
Despite their growing importance, however, Filipina care workers continue to face a number of challenges abroad.
The study identified insecure employment, long working hours, language barriers, limited opportunities for career advancement, and unequal access to labor protections, healthcare, and social security benefits among the issues confronting migrant care workers.
The authors said the increasing dependence of destination countries on migrant care workers has not been matched by stronger protections for those workers.
This creates a growing paradox. While destination countries increasingly rely on Filipino workers to care for their aging populations, the continued migration of caregivers and healthcare professionals could leave the Philippines facing shortages of its own.
The authors refer to this as a ‘care deficit,’ a situation in which the country loses workers who could otherwise contribute to its domestic health and care system.
Although overseas employment provides jobs and generates remittances, the study suggests that the economic benefits must be weighed against the potential long-term impact on the country’s own care workforce.
Beyond overseas employment
To examine these issues, the authors combined Philippine labor market data with policy analysis and interviews involving migration experts, government representatives, and Filipina migrant workers in Japan, Singapore, and Australia.
This allowed them to examine both the economic value of migrant care work and the everyday experiences of Filipino workers, while identifying policy gaps affecting both sending and receiving countries.
The study recommends several measures to help sustain the region’s growing care economy.
These include improving the cross-border recognition of professional qualifications, expanding access to portable social protection and healthcare benefits, promoting ethical recruitment, investing in continuous skills development and digital training, and strengthening bilateral agreements between the Philippines and destination countries.
‘Ensuring the sustainability of this care-driven interdependence demands collective action, between states, industries, and regional institutions, to secure equitable, ethical, and technologically supported care systems across the APEC region,’ the authors said.
They added that recognizing the value of care work must go hand in hand with ensuring decent work, fair treatment, and adequate protection for the workers who support millions of older people across the region.
‘Filipina migrant workers lie at the nexus of economic necessity and social reproduction. They sustain aging populations abroad while filling fiscal gaps at home through remittances, yet their work remains undervalued and insufficiently protected,’ the authors said.