Public Employment Service Offices (PESOs) play a vital role in connecting communities across the Philippines with vital job opportunities, skills training, and career services, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) highlighted on Tuesday, 8 July.

According to DOLE OIC-Assistant Secretary Patrick Patriwirawan Jr., local job offices are now evolving from mere job-matching centers into “frontliners of opportunity,” which connect job seekers to employers, align education with market needs, and make digital tools more accessible, especially in remote communities.

Over the past four years, local PESOs have referred an average of 2.38 million job seekers annually, with placement rates hitting a record-high 94 percent last year.

The number of job vacancies sourced also rose to 5.76 million in 2024, reflecting growing trust from employers, Patriwirawan noted.

Further, of the 1,592 established PESOs nationwide, nearly 800 are now institutionalized, with dedicated plantilla positions, permanent funding, and local ordinances to ensure that even far-flung towns have reliable help for those looking for work, new skills, or career advice.

The DOLE official said the government aims to institutionalize 80 percent of all PESOs in the next two years and train 90 percent of PESO staff in digital tools and systems.

Patriwirawan also highlighted the PESO Five-Point Agenda, a strategic framework that seeks to modernize local employment offices, professionalize their staff, and improve digital solutions for labor market matching.

He added that DOLE is now implementing a nationwide roadmap with tools designed to speed up the job matching process, improve placement accuracy, and make employment facilitation more inclusive, especially for job seekers in remote communities.