The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) identified the top occupations and skills of the world labor market for the year 2009. According to the government agency, the following occupations are in-demand abroad: household service workers, nurses, production and related workers, caregivers, wiremen, electrical and related workers, welders, flame cutters and related workers, charworkers, cleaners and related workers, cooks and related workers, laborers, general workers and plumbers, pipefitters and related workers and seafarers.

The report also showed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the consistent top destination of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is also the country with the highest demand for Filipino nurses in 2009. This list of nurse’s destinations is followed by United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore, Kuwait and the United Kingdom (UK).

For the last five years, the following countries are also included in the list: USA, Qatar, Taiwan, Ireland and Trinidad and Tobago. However, the current visa retrogression policy of US immigration has the limited the number of available slots for Filipino nurses in America.

Demand for production workers are still highest in Taiwan despite being hit by the global financial crisis last year that slightly lowered the need for workers in the

semi-conductor, metal and electronics industry. There is also a need for production staff in Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, South Korea, Canada, Malaysia and Brunei.

For 2009, the top destinations for caretakers and caregivers are Taiwan, UK and Israel. However it is expected that the hiring of caregivers for Israel may slow down this year because of the ongoing legalization program.