Survey reveals changing face, fortunes of Filipino expats in UAE

Dubai - Filipinos are now represented across all industries contributing to the country's economy.

Filipino expats, arguably the third largest expat community in the UAE after Indians and Pakistanis, have dramatically improved their lot in the past few years, in terms of skills, employability and purchasing power, according to a study.
Eon Group, a marketing and consultancy firm, said its report titled 'EON Insight: Focus on the Filipino in the UAE' was aimed at breaking the perceptions and stereotypes of Filipinos, proving that its migrant workforce is no longer dominated by traditional and low-skilled workers, including domestic helpers and labourers.
"Filipinos are now represented across all industries contributing to the country's economy and that 64 per cent of Filipino respondents are college graduates while 6.7 per cent hold post graduate degrees," Eon said.
The study also showed that 62 per cent of the Filipinos surveyed can be found in sectors that are seen to contribute to the UAE's economic diversification and expansion.
According to Eon, "the top five sectors Filipinos work in are architecture, engineering and construction (17%), tourism and hospitality (16%), customer service (13%), health and medical fields (10%) and marketing and advertising (8%)".
Moreover, an increasing number of Filipino professionals are in associate, supervisory and mid-senior level manager roles, according to the survey that was conducted between May and June this year across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
In terms of income, 37 per cent of Filipinos surveyed earn at least Dh8,000 a month, while 20 per cent take home Dh13,000 monthly.
Filipinos are also big spenders, with 48 per cent of them going to the mall to shop at least once or twice a month and 45 per cent willing to spend up to Dh50 for one meal and 16 per cent willing to spend more than Dh80 for a nice meal.
Junie Del Mundo, founder and CEO of EON Group, explained that the survey, which had 200 online respondents and 400 face-to-face interviews plus focused-discussion group, has shown "the impact and contribution of the Filipino community to the UAE".
"Filipinos are very engaged, increasingly wealthy, proud of their new home and looking for ways they can help support the diverse, tolerant and multicultural country that is the UAE. There is an increasing opportunity for companies to directly engage with this community," Del Mundo underlined.
Philippine Consul-General Paul Raymund Cortes said: "We are very proud of our relationship with the UAE. Our ties with this country are one of our most strategic relationships, be it trade, cultural, or human relationships."
Key findings:
Education
>64% Of Filipinos in the UAE are college graduates
>6.7% Hold post graduate degrees.
The top five sectors where Filipinos work
>17% - Architecture, engineering and construction
>16% - Tourism and hospitality
>13% - Customer service
>10% - Health and medical fields
>8% - Marketing and advertising
Income
>37% Earn Dh8,000 a month
>20% Earn Dh13,000 a month.
Spending habits
>48% of Filipinos go to the mall to shop at least once or twice a month
>45% spend Dh50 for a meal
>16% willing to spend more than Dh80 for a meal
Period of stay
>41.3% Of Filipinos have been living in the UAE for 2 to 5 years
>37% have been living in the UAE for more than 6 years
>31.5% Plan to stay in the UAE for another 3 to 5 years
angel@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai