17 September, 2019, Dubai, UAE: A major study on the Filipino community in the UAE revealed that highly skilled Filipinos are now represented across all industries contributing to the country’s economy and that 64% of Filipino respondents are college graduates while 6.7% hold post graduate degrees. 

The EON Insight: Focus on the Filipino in the UAE, the first ever study into the contribution of the Filipino community in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has today (Tuesday, 17 September) been released by The EON Group. The study sought to further understand the size, scale and contribution of the UAE’s third largest expatriate demographic. 

The study also showed that 62% of the Filipinos surveyed can be found in sectors that are seen to contribute to the UAE’s economic diversification and expansion. The top five sectors they 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%). 

An increasing number of Filipino workers are further providing semi-skilled and highly skilled labour, shifting away from low-skilled work areas. In job positions, 46% of Filipinos are in associate, supervisory, and mid-senior level manager roles, according to the survey.

Junie Del Mundo, Founder and CEO, The EON Group said “This study shows, for the first time, both the impact and contribution of the Filipino community to the UAE. The community is 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.”

Paul Raymund Cortes, Philippine Consul General in Dubai and Northern Emirates,   said, “We are very proud of our relationship with the UAE thus far and we continue to be optimistic that our people to people exchanges and our economic ties will even deepen as the years go on. Our ties with the UAE are one of our most strategic relationships, be it trade, cultural, and human relationships. We welcome EON's study as it shows the already deep ties between our countries and our peoples and the wealth of opportunities presenting itself for an even richer relationship.”

 

Key Findings: 

 

  • The UAE is a highly attractive destination for professional Filipinos due to the economic opportunities and tolerant open society. 
    • Highly skilled Filipinos are now represented across all industries. 64% of FIlipinos in the UAE are college graduates and 6.7% hold post graduate degrees. 
  • The Filipino community is an ever-increasing contributor to the economic  diversification and growth of the UAE economy
    • 62% of the Filpinos surveyed can be found in sectors that are seen to contribute to the UAE’s economic diversification and expansion. 
    • The top five sectors they 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%) 
    • 37% earn at least AED 8,000 a month, with 20% earning AED 13,000 a month. 
    • Filipinos are big spenders, with 48% going to the mall at least once or twice a month, with 45% willing to spend up to AED 50 for one meal and 16% willing to spend more than AED 80.  
  • The Filipino community has a long-term commitment to the UAE, with Filipinos increasingly looking to invest and build deeper interlinked roots into the UAE. 
    • 41.3% of Filipinos surveyed have been living in the UAE for 2 to 5 years, while 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 
  • The ability to worship freely and in peace is a major draw for the Filipino community
    • Survey data shows that their home country’s culture plays a key role in shaping Filipinos’ activities in the UAE, with Filipinos continuing to observe Filipino traditions and practices 
    • A number of Filipinos spend their free time participating in church activities such as Bible studies and community service programs 
      • The Filipino weekly mass, held every Friday at St Mary’s Catholic Church in Dubai, sees an average weekly attendance of more than 2,000 
      • Simbang Gabi, a Filipino Christmas tradition of daily masses over a 9 day period has attendees between 30,000 and 35,000 per day 
  • The social media connectivity and positive promotion of the UAE by the UAE based Filipino community has contributed to the UAE being a top 10 destination for travelling Filipinos
    • Filipinos are an untapped force of marketing in the UAE as they are constantly connected online 
    • Filipino influencers are making their mark in the UAE by creating well-curated content that is relevant to their fans and following, and are performing well in terms of engagement and reach. 

“The Filipino community plays an important role within the UAE. Increasingly, there are opportunities for UAE-based companies to engage and market to this sizeable community. The community is looking to be engaged across a broad range of industries. Whether it be the ability to purchase their own home, build smarter relationships with financial services companies, take advantage of the UAE’s entrepreneur focus, the next generation of Filipino community is increasingly a significant and important player in the consideration of companies,” added Del Mundo.