MANILA — Jobstreet has published the most in-demand specializations on its platform so far this 2025.

Accounting, Information and Communications Technology, and Sales were the most in-demand jobs for the first half of the year, based on the website's data from March to May 2025.

Transformation in the BPO sector led to more recruitments of specialized professionals across diverse fields, including the said jobs, Jobstreet by SEEK Head of Marketing Joey Yusingco said Tuesday.

Yusingco said global demand remained "particularly strong" for Filipino talents in accounting, finance, and IT. 

"So that is one of the biggest key drivers," he said.

Growth in the banking and real estate sectors, as well as the boom in AI use, contributed to the demand for accounting, tech, and sales talent, Yusingco noted.

Hybrid job ads over ‘work-from-home’ seen as industry finds 'balance': Jobstreet

Jobstreet also reported that there is a mismatch between openings and what candidates are looking for.

"We have [fewer] candidates than job opportunities in these segments. So candidates have a huge opportunity to move into these roles," Yusingco said.

He cited as an example workers in marketing shifting careers to "technological roles... using AI, being an AI expert. and all these things that are available now."

The unemployment rate slightly went up in March at 3.9 percent compared to 3.8 percent in February, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

ACTIVE JOB SEEKERS IN PH DOWN: REPORT

Meanwhile, active job seekers in the Philippines are down to 54 percent from 74 percent in the previous year, based on recruitment agency Michael Page Philippines' 2025 Talent Trends Report.

The decline in the number of active job seekers in the country comes amid the increase in salary negotiations in their current companies, Rhiannon Guilford, Michael Page Philippines director, told ABS-CBN News on Tuesday.

"So salary negotiations have really gone up with over 40 percent of people now willing to have that discussion internally rather than taking the leap and moving outside," Guilford said.

The surveys for the report were conducted from November to December 2024.

WORK-LIFE BALANCE PRIORITIZED BY JOBSEEKERS

Both the jobs portal and the recruitment agency mentioned work-life as a top priority among job seekers today. Active job seekers have become "extremely picky" about the work they apply for, according to Guilford.

"So before, people would look for maybe a salary increase or they would look for a better work setup, and they would move. Now, candidates are saying whatever their motivations are. Sometimes it's more work-life balance. Sometimes it's [a] higher salary. But what we're seeing now is all the boxes have to be ticked for them," Guilford said.

AGE DISCRIMINATION AMONG TOP BIASES IN THE WORKPLACE

According to the talent trends report, nearly half, or 43 percent, of professionals experienced age discrimination, most often among those in their 50s. This is followed by gender identity at 43 percent and ethnicity at 26 percent. With this, Guilford urged employers to widen their talent pool to address challenges in hiring.

"Employers are saying it's becoming increasingly more difficult to hire. So there's a huge opportunity if they can actually look at how do they widen the talent pool. So can they give opportunities to those younger generations who have potential? Or can they be more inclusive to experienced professionals who have actually a lot of knowledge that they can bring to those potential roles?" Guilford said.

Employees in their 20s tend to feel overlooked when it comes to promotions, while those in their 50s are sometimes dismissed for having "outdated" ideas, Guilford added.