DOLE: BPOs may need 6,000 more employees amid COVID pandemic

There may be some 6,000 job openings in the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry due to the resurgence of the sector amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Citing Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, a report on GMA's "24 Oras" on Sunday said there has been a "resurgence" in the local BPO sector.

This comes as BPO firms are now looking to expand operations in Metro Manila, Clark, Pampanga, and Cebu.

Data released by Leechiu Property Consultants (LPC) last week showed that the BPO sector accounted for 37% of office space demand from January to May this year, even with the quarantines.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) earlier this month reported an unemployment rate of 17.7% in April, reflecting an increase of 5 million jobless Filipinos to 7.3 million.

Bello countered the PSA's numbers, claiming there were only 69,000 unemployed Filipinos during the period.

Bello's claims were refuted by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the country’s largest business organization, which noted that its members alone reported a total of 3.5 million unemployed Filipinos. — Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas/BM, GMA News