The Philippines already has a very high unemployment rate and the last thing they want is foreigners coming over and competing for jobs.  The local wages are such that many foreigners would find it a challenge to survive on them anyway. For those who are fortunate enough to score an ‘expat’ job (expatriate) they will enjoy a good salary, housing, education and often paid vacation travel.

Those jobs are not easy to come by if only because the Philippines has a very well educated and qualified professional pool to draw from. Those jobs are also almost always recruited for overseas. Any job openings that occur domestically that are aimed at a foreigner filling the position will also attract a much lower salary. I have worked at firms where the local expat hires are paid a quarter or less than the imported expat hires. Of course the local expat hires are still paid about the same more than the local hires so what goes around, comes around!

There will always be more jobs for expats in Manila than in Cebu, if only because Manila is over ten times the size in population and area. This doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities to be had there. I know several long term expat employees of furniture manufacturers and other businesses as well as owners of restaurants, clubs and so on who have lived and worked in Cebu for decades.