Dubai seems to be the destination of most people today for work but apparently this piece of news may not be that enlightening for the people looking for work. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo planed in to Dubai with the hopes of negotiating a pact to help remedy the growing number of unemployed Filipinos today. But upon her arrival, she was told that job opportunities over there have dried up.

According to Emmanuel Geslani, Dubai has lost its status as a corporate financial hub and many unemployed migrant workers are now finding out just how tough are the laws on debt, immigration and labor in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Geslani aired the warning Sunday, in the course of pointing out that Ms Arroyo’s trip to Dubai to meet with prospective employers of Filipinos did not mean that thousands of jobs were still available there.

“My advice to [Filipinos] is: Don’t go there for nothing so you will not suffer,” Geslani told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on the phone.

He said Filipinos applying for jobs in Dubai and other parts of the UAE should verify from their would-be employers if a working visa or permit would be eventually issued to them when they get there.

Geslani, a 30-year veteran of the recruitment industry, is a former vice chair and three-term director of the Philippine Association of Service Exporters Inc. (PASEI).

His clients include Manila-based recruitment agencies belonging to PASEI, the Federation of Manpower Exporters and the Overseas Performers Association of the Philippines.

(Source) Philippine Daily Inquirer

With recession looming across the world, expect a lot of people without a job starting this month. This prediction was expected as early as the third quarter of last year and it seems that many people are slowly feeling this pinch of surviving the worst economic crisis to hit the world since ages.

There have been bailouts given. Loans with affordable interest rates with their business stake as collateral have been granted. But the thing is, are they enough?

Majority of the employees hit are the overseas workers. Thousands have been laid off in the United States, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan. A lot of them are Filipinos. Many came home last December, their last trip for now since they are formally out of a job.

There are countries that declared job openings. Among them include Qatar, Canada and the United Kingdom. But so far, nothing definite has been reported with regards to their actual needs.

Folks, the crisis is for real. If you have a job, do all means to keep it. For the unemployed, all you can do for now is keep on looking. That is the best thing you can do for now, regardless if you have a diploma or not.