The Region VIII job market, 2024.

Eastern Visayas’ 2024 labor market shows a sharp rise in registered jobseekers, with 150,856 persons seeking employment—an 67.45‑percent year‑over‑year increase—while employers number 2,109 and posted vacancies total 28,646. The rise in jobseekers outweighs the increase in available positions, suggesting a growing supply of labor and potential competition for the current 28,646 openings.

The workforce is slightly female‑skewed, with 55.5 percent of registered jobseekers identifying as female and 44.5 percent male. The employment rate stands at 45.2 percent, indicating that less than half of the jobseeker pool has secured employment. Educationally, the majority of seekers hold at least a high‑school credential: 30,243 at high‑school level and 28,552 at high‑school graduate, followed by 23,663 college graduates and 10,974 college‑level students. Vocational and post‑graduate attainment is comparatively small, at 1,647 and 212 individuals, respectively.

Provincial data reveal significant gaps between the number of seekers and vacancies. Samar leads with 44,232 jobseekers but only 3,958 vacancies, a ratio that points to a steep supply gap. Leyte follows with 33,616 seekers against 15,726 vacancies. In contrast, Biliran, with only 11,156 seekers, has 104 vacancies, indicating potential undersupply. Northern Samar and Eastern Samar also show mismatches, while Southern Leyte’s vacancy count (575) falls far below its 18,112 seekers.

The most sought occupations are cashier, service crew, production worker, sales lady, and sales clerk. PESOs and policymakers might focus on expanding training tailored to these roles and enhance job‑matching services so that the large pool of high‑school and college‑educated seekers can better align with the most in‑demand positions.