More than 46,000 job seekers were hired on the spot at government job fairs in the first half of 2026, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said, as it expands efforts to connect Filipinos with jobs and prepare young workers for the labor market.
From January to June, DOLE conducted 1,166 job fairs nationwide, during which 18,916 employers offered more than 2 million local and overseas vacancies.
A total of 46,361 applicants were hired on the spot, according to the labor department.
The figures were released after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., in his fifth State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday, cited job fairs among the government’s measures to help Filipinos find work, including those displaced amid the crisis in the Middle East.
‘Many were affected or lost their jobs during this period. That is why we continue to hold job fairs across the country,’ Marcos said in Filipino in his Sona.
‘On May 1, Labor Day, amid rising fuel prices, we held nearly 100 job fairs where we made almost 300,000 job openings available to the public. In that single day of job fairs, more than 6,000 Filipinos were hired on the spot,’ he added.
Another 4,476 job seekers were hired on the spot during the TRABAHO AGAD job fairs held to mark Independence Day in June.
‘Under the Presidential directive, DOLE has intensified its employment facilitation and workforce development programs guided by DOLE Secretary Francis N. Tolentino’s twin priorities: facilitating employment opportunities through the ‘TRABAHO AGAD’ job fairs and advancing ‘future-ready manggagawa’ by equipping Filipino workers with the skills and competencies needed to thrive in an evolving labor market,’ DOLE said in a statement.
Apart from job fairs, Public Employment Service Offices referred 1.197 million qualified jobseekers to employers for possible placement, according to DOLE.
Training young workers
DOLE also said 133,094 young Filipinos participated in its youth employment programs from January to June.
A total of 111,509 received short-term employment under the Special Program for Employment of Students, while 19,455 aspiring public servants and first-time job seekers participated in the Government Internship Program.
Another 2,130 young workers joined the JobStart Program, which provides life skills and technical training, paid internships and employment facilitation services.
DOLE said revised guidelines for the Government Internship Program now put greater emphasis on structured, competency-based internships intended to ‘foster long-term professional growth rather than short-term work exposure.’
The department said it is also working with industry and the academe to align workforce development programs with employers’ changing needs