Businesses that give employers and employees a place to meet are known as Labor Market Intermediaries (LMIs), and they play a critical role in facilitating transactions and creating networks. Digital LMIs (DLMIs) are LMIs that operate purely on a digital platform; this denotes that employer-employee matching in the labor market has transformed to meet the demands posed by 21st-century innovations and technologies (Autor 2001). In the Philippines, DLMIs have become a popular avenue for advertising employment opportunities and searching for job vacancies. Due to the presence of DLMIs in the Philippines and their profound impact on the labor market, the current policies on recruitment and placement fall short of covering DLMIs due to the ambiguity in applying Article 13, Section B of the Labor Code of the Philippines (LCP) to digital platforms.
The findings of the studies are divided into four key areas, including (1) Existing policies and legal frameworks that have jurisdiction over the activities and services of DLMIs; (2) DLMI activities and services offered to job seekers and employers; (3) Effect of DLMIs on the pre-employment experiences of job seekers; and (4) Effect of DLMIs on the hiring and recruitment experiences of employers. This study recommends crafting a policy specific to the peculiarities of DLMIs, which will address the cross-cutting nature of cybersecurity and data privacy, along with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) exercising its mandate to oversee employment facilitation activities and protect job seekers. The abundant and informative labor market information registered in DLMIs is also an avenue of cooperation between the government and the private sector.
Keywords: Employment facilitation, Digital Labor Market Intermediaries, Digital Labor Platforms, Recruitment and Hiring
RESEARCHERS: Chelsea Nicole P. Pineda | Loren Art S. Cayabyab