The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is set to hold more job fairs outside Metro Manila for March.

Here are the upcoming dates and venues of DOLE's job fairs this March:

March 18

• PESO Urbiztondo Job Fair (Sports Complex Urbiztondo, Pangasinan)

• Women's Month Job Fair (Misamis Oriental)

March 19

• Peso Agoo Job Fair (Jose D. Aspiras Gymnasium in Agoo, La Union)

March 20

• PESO Ligao City One Day Job Fair (Ligao City, Albay)

• LGU-Makato (Augusto B. Legaspi Memorial Hall, Poblacion, Makato, Aklan)

March 21

• PESO Basista Job Fair (Basista Municipal Auditorium)

• PESO Bongabong-Women's Month Celebration (El Umali Gym, Brgy. Poblacion, Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro)

• PESO Tobaco City One Day Job Fair (Tobaco City, Albay)

• LGU-PESO Victorias City (Victorias CITY command & Evacuation Center, HDA Luisa, Osmena Ave., Brgy. 13, Victoria's City, Negros Occidental)

• Araw ng Dabaw Job Fair (NCCP VP Mall, JP Laurel, Davao City)

March 24

• Kaliga Fair (Municipal Gym, La Paz, Agusan del Sur)

March 25

• LGU-PESO Himamaylan City (Himamaylan City Hall)

• LGU-PESO Passi City (City of Passi Arena)

March 26

• PESO Siaton Job Fair (Siaton, Negros Oriental)

March 27 to 28

• Job Fair (LGU - Cagdianao, Province of Dinagat Islands)

March 28

• Mega Job Fair with PESO Tacloban (Tacloban City Convention Center)

March 29

• Serbisyo Publiko/Service Caravan (Learning and Tourism Display Center and Multipurpose Hall, Veruela, Agusan del Sur)

Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma assured DOLE "will continue to promote the Trabaho sa Bagong Pilipinas through monthly or bi-weekly job fairs, linking vulnerable groups to sustained income opportunities, and support micro, small, and medium enterprises through accelerated Adjustment Measures Programs initiatives in the countryside."

Laguesma noted that this is in a bid to strengthen further the labor market in line with the Marcos administration's push for poverty reduction and inclusive growth.

The Labor chief also pointed out that these job fairs "are a crucial job-generation measure to sustain post-pandemic employment gains and drive economic transformation."

He likewise noted that the digitalization of public employment services will be pursued to enhance accessibility, streamline processes, and increase efficiency for job seekers and employment via platforms like PhilJobNet and PESO Employment Information System.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported that the country's employment rate reached 95.7 percent in January, slightly improving from 95.5 percent in January 2024.

Meanwhile, in terms of actual figures, 48.9 million Filipinos were employed in January, an increase from 45.90 million during the same period last year and 48.16 million in October 2024, respectively.