DMW Job Orders: 134,072 Listed, and the Catch
Department of Migrant Workers · employment
Quick answer
DMW publishes approved job orders for OFWs, listing 134,072 as of 31 August 2026, browsable by jobsite and downloadable as CSV. The list covers active job orders from the past 2 years, and DMW tells applicants in capitals to verify with the agency that a job order is still active.
Last verified
Where these figures come from
About these figures: the numbers below come from DMW's official published sources: Department of Migrant Workers | Approved Job Orders (https://dmw.gov.ph/inquiry/approved-job-orders, retrieved 2026-08-31); Department of Migrant Workers | Licensed Recruitment Agencies (https://dmw.gov.ph/inquiry/licensed-recruitment-agencies, retrieved 2026-08-31); Department of Migrant Workers | Frequently Asked Questions (https://dmw.gov.ph/faqs, retrieved 2026-08-31). Agencies change fees and rates without notice, so confirm with DMW before you rely on them. Last verified: 2026-08-31.
DMW publishes the vacancy list and, in the same breath, tells you not to trust it without a phone call. Both halves matter.
The list
| What DMW publishes | |
|---|---|
| Job orders on 31 August 2026 | 134,072 |
| Description | Approved job orders and employment opportunities for Overseas Filipino workers |
| Per-row detail | Jobsite; position, agency and principal; accreditation; number of workers needed |
| Sorting | By jobsite, newest first |
| Views | Cards or a table |
| Export | Download CSV |
| Refresh on the companion licence view | Every 2 hours |
What DMW says about its own list
| Caveat | Detail |
|---|---|
| Where it comes from | Culled from licensed recruitment agencies’ active job orders for the past 2 years |
| What is netted out | Workers whose documents were already submitted for processing |
| Default status | Job orders are considered active unless cancelled by the employer or recruitment agency |
| The guarantee | DMW cannot guarantee the vacancies are still open, because agencies may already have accepted qualified applicants |
| The instruction | In capitals: VERIFY WITH THE AGENCY if the job order is still active |
Read that as a two-step process. The list tells you an opening existed and was approved; only the agency can tell you it is open now.
Check the agency, not just the job
| Check | Where | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| Licensed recruitment agencies | DMW’s directory | 3,794 listed, each with Valid License or Expired |
| Whitelisted principals | DMW’s inquiry page | Published separately |
| Whitelisted agencies | DMW’s inquiry page | Published separately |
The recruitment agencies guide covers the directory and the direct-hiring rules.
If there is no agency at all
Direct hiring is lawful only for four categories of employer, cited from Article 18 of the 1974 Labor Code and reiterated in RA 8042 as amended by RA 10022, the 2016 Revised POEA Landbased Rules, and Memorandum Circular No. 8, Series of 2018:
| # | Who may directly hire |
|---|---|
| a | Members of the diplomatic corps |
| b | International organizations, such as the United Nations and ASEAN |
| c | Heads of state and government officials of at least deputy minister rank |
| d | Other employers as may be allowed by the Administration |
Processing runs through POPS-Direct, under POEA Advisory No. 33A, Series of 2022.
What happens after you are hired
| Step | Detail |
|---|---|
| E-registration | The online registration of an OFW, providing the reference number for encoding the OEC, on dmw.gov.ph |
| POEA OFW Record | The documentation of an OFW once an OEC was issued by the POEA Main Office, Regional Offices, Extension Units or BM Mall Processing Centers |
| OEC | Valid 2 months or 60 days from issuance; usable once, for a single exit |
| Returning workers | POPS-BaM, an online system for returning OFWs to secure their OEC and verify employment before going back abroad |
The DMW online services guide covers e-registration, and the Balik-Manggagawa OEC guide the returning-worker route.
What deployment costs
| Route | DMW processing fee | OWWA | HDMF, Pag-IBIG |
|---|---|---|---|
| Through a landbased agency, manual OEC | ₱200.00 | USD 25 | ₱600.00 |
| Direct hire | USD 100 in peso equivalent | USD 25 | ₱600.00 |
| Government-to-government, Triple Win or Germany | USD 100 in peso equivalent | USD 25 | ₱600.00 |
| Government-to-government, KSA, Korea or Taiwan | USD 50 | USD 25 | ₱600.00 |
| On-board processing, to engage | ₱200.00 | - | - |
| On-board processing, to re-engage | ₱100.00 | - | - |
| Balik-Manggagawa OEC at a regional office | Total standard fee None | - | - |
The rest of the file before you fly
| Agency | Figure | Where it is covered |
|---|---|---|
| DFA | Passport ₱950.00 regular | New passport |
| NBI | Clearance ₱160.00 including the e-payment fee | NBI clearance requirements |
| OWWA | Membership USD $25.00 | OWWA membership |
| OWWA | PDOS, published at 1 day | PDOS |
| SSS | Contributions ₱760.00 to ₱5,280.00 a month | SSS for OFWs |
| Pag-IBIG | ₱200 a month | Pag-IBIG for OFWs |
| PSA | Birth certificate ₱130.00, valid 60 days | PSA birth certificate |
What this page does not cover
DMW does not publish, on the pages read for this guide, how to apply to a listed job order directly, the salary offered per job order, the closing date of a job order, how long approval of a job order takes, or an alert when a listing is cancelled. None of those are stated here.
Related
The recruitment agencies guide covers checking a licence, the DMW online services guide the e-registration account, and the OEC guide the exit document.
Frequently asked questions
- What is an approved job order?
- An employment vacancy approved by DMW and held by a licensed recruitment agency for a named principal. DMW publishes them at dmw.gov.ph, showing jobsite, position, agency, principal, accreditation and the number of workers needed.
- How many are listed?
- 134,072 job orders on 31 August 2026. The list is browsable by jobsite, viewable as cards or a table, and downloadable as CSV.
- Are the vacancies guaranteed?
- No, and DMW says so. It states it cannot guarantee that the job vacancies are still open because the recruitment agencies may already have accepted qualified applicants for the listed positions, and instructs applicants in capitals to verify with the agency whether the job order is still active.
- How old can a listing be?
- The list is culled from licensed recruitment agencies' active job orders for the past 2 years, showing the remaining job orders after deducting the number of workers whose documents were already submitted for processing.
- When is a job order no longer active?
- DMW states job orders are considered active unless cancelled by the employer or recruitment agency.
- How often does it update?
- The licence-status view on the companion agency directory is stamped with a date and hour and updates every 2 hours.
- How do I check the agency behind a listing?
- Through DMW's Licensed Recruitment Agencies directory, which listed 3,794 agencies with a licence status of Valid License or Expired. DMW also publishes whitelisted principals and whitelisted agencies inquiry pages.
- What happens after I am hired?
- You register through DMW e-registration, which provides the reference number for encoding your OEC, then process the OEC itself. An OEC is valid for 2 months or 60 days from issuance and can be used once, for a single exit.