The overseas Filipino narrative is changing.
A major study called, “EON Insight: Focus on the Filipino in the UAE” by the EON Group reveals that Filipinos are no longer confined to low-skilled and domestic domain. Highly competitive Filipinos are becoming more visible across all industries, and the impact is contributing to the country’s economic growth.
The study sought to further understand the size, scale and contribution of the UAE’s 3rd largest expat demographic. From the study, 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%)
- 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.
“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.”
Junie Del Mundo, Founder and CEO, The EON Group
While The overseas Filipino narrative is changing, the values we love about them remains intact.
L-R: Mr. Junie del Mundo, CEO, The EON Group, Philippine Consul General Paul Raymund
Cortes, Mr. Mori Rodriguez, Chief Innovation Officer, The EON
5 key takeaways from the study
The UAE remains an attractive destination for professional Filipinos due to the economic opportunities and a tolerant open society.
- 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 Filipinos surveyed can be found in sectors that are seen to contribute to the UAE’s economic diversification and expansion.
- 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
- 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
- Weekly Tagalog mass, held every Friday at St Mary’s Catholic Church, 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 traveling 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.
“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
Philippine Consul General Paul Raymund Cortes, Dubai and Northern Emirates
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.”
EON Group, in a fabulously remarkable presentation at the Armani Hotel Ballroom, has also shared 3 integral segments of Filipinos in the UAE as found in the study: The Expat Achiever, The Pinoy Dreamer, and The Hero Survivor.
The Hero Survivor (Bayani)
The semi-skilled Filipinos representing the domestic household service and construction; the risk-takers who take pride in their bravery to face unfamiliar culture. They send most of their earnings to their families back home.
The Pinoy Dreamer
The essential and technical skilled Filipinos such as nurses, hotel staff, IT service, sales and marketing staff.
The Expat Achiever
Professionals who are equipped with technical and creative skills. They have entrepreneurial mindset. Doctors, engineers, fashion designers, IT professionals, business owners among others belong to this group.
