The high unemployment rate was used to be a major problem in the Philippines way back in the late 1990's and early 2000. Employment growth was not sufficient to decrease unemployment because of the rapid growth of the population and increased labor force participation. This made lots of Filipino people leave the country and seek greener pasture in foreign lands.

The Filipinos leave the Philippines to work in foreign lands, and the foreign companies or establishments take advantage of their talents and skills. It is sad to know that these Filipinos could have stayed in their own land and contributed their skills to the development of their own country. This has been an ongoing problem by the Philippine government in the past few years.

Every year, millions of Filipinos leave the Philippines to work abroad to support their families. Most of the jobs filled by Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) are doctors, nurses, accountants, engineers, architects, seafarers, caregivers, physical therapists, IT professionals, teachers, technicians, and domestic helpers or housemaids. The exodus includes an increasing number of experienced skilled workers with training and certificate in the mechanical and electrical field regardless of whether they have completed a bachelor's degree or not. An exodus production of skilled workers mostly fly to middle eastern countries and some parts of Africa.

The past administration gave importance to this unemployment problem and established job campaigns by promoting tourism with foreign investors. It was remarkably seen as a successful campaign because of the increasing demand of workers particularly in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industries. The recent report from National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that the unemployment rate dipped to 6.9% as of July 2010 compared to last year that was 7.6%.

The emergence of BPO industry is a significant factor that contributed a huge effect in the unemployment rate of the country. Call center companies comprise 80% of the BPO industry and it is now regarded as one of the fastest growing industries in the world. Thousands of young individuals ventured into this flourishing career that do not require a complete bachelor's degree and provides attractive compensation. The advancement of technology created a lot of prospering careers for the young Filipino people and made them choose to stay rather than work abroad and being far from their families and loved ones.