Over 5,000 jobseekers were hired during the nationwide Labor Day job fairs, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said Wednesday.

Based on regional reports, as of 3 May, 5,512 job seekers who trooped to the 97 job fair sites across the provinces were hired on the spot.

Most of them were hired for positions of service crews, cashiers, sales associates, production operators, sales clerks, production crews, online teachers, and housekeepers. 

The preliminary figures are expected to improve as job fairs will be conducted until Thursday, 9 May, in select venues.

DOLE Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said the department conducted at least one Labor Day job fair per province to bring employment opportunities much closer to Filipino workers in the regions.

The nationwide job fairs gathered 2,839 employers who offered 235,246 local vacancies and 166 employers who offered 62,431 overseas employment opportunities.

The job fair sites also served as one-stop-shops of government services, where 2,756 applicants availed of skills enhancement training; 3,106 availed of livelihood assistance; and 821 availed of entrepreneurship opportunities.

A total of 10,843 job seekers also availed of services offered by the Social Security System (SSS), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (Philhealth), and Pag-IBIG Fund.