83% of OFW returnees unemployed 3 months after return study shows

A study by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) revealed that 83% of repatriated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are still unemployed three months after their return to the Philippines due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The IOM report, based on interviews with over 8,000 returned OFWs, indicates that nearly 800,000 OFWs had returned by the end of December 2020.

Among those interviewed, 59% did not receive separation or compensation pay, 17% were denied their final salary, and 19% experienced early contract termination.

Most of the repatriated workers originated from the Middle East, with nearly all of them being land-based.

Nearly half or 48% of returning OFWs expressed a desire to re-migrate internationally, while only 2% were interested in internal migration.

Around 16% of the interviewed OFW-returnees bore the costs of their return journey, with females being more likely to finance and arrange it themselves.