Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) remain to be in-demand all over the world despite the current global economic crisis and prevailing tension in some Middle East countries.

According to the chief of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Carlos Cao Jr., compared to last year data, the number of deployed land based and seabased OFWs for the first ten months of 2011 increased by 5%. From January to October of 2010, the number of deployed OFWs is 1,281,000. The 2011 data of the same period is five percent higher.

Cao said, “Our deployment statistics are still very good even as we face so many challenges this year. In fact, we have sent 1,350,000 Filipino workers to over 200 countries in the first 10 months of 2011.”

Cao added, “Based on POEA preliminary data, land-based workers comprised the greater bulk of the total deployment in the first 10 months of 2011.”

Saudi Arabia remains to be the top destination of Filipino workers as 200,000 OFWs were hired for the first ten months of 2011. This is despite the implementation of Saudization or Nitaqat system, a labor policy that requires Saudi companies to hire its local citizens and limit hiring of foreign workers.

The POEA chief also said that compared to past years, hiring percentage of highly skilled OFWs that are less prone to being abused increased.

Cao said, “The situation has changed for the better as production workers and other related skills are now beginning to catch up and tend to overtake the hiring of household service workers.”

The POEA chief expressed confidence that the positive developments in OFW deployment would continue in 2012. He also said that the government is currently discussing with different host countries to create new new bilateral agreements that would give more protection for OFWs.