Abstract
While the COVID-19 pandemic severely affected recruitment and deployment of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), there is little information about the impact of the pandemic on recruitment actors, in particular private recruitment agencies (PRAs). The important role of PRAs in facilitating the overseas deployment of Filipino workers is recognized by Philippine laws and policies and by policies of governments in countries of destination. How did the drastic drop in the volume of deployment in 2020 affect the operations and prospects of the Philippines’ recruitment industry? In response to the pandemic, the Integrated Programme on Fair Recruitment (FAIR), funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, launched a study in June 2020 to understand the way in which the recruitment industry in the Philippines was impacted by the pandemic. The report summarizes the findings of the assessment and identifies a number of key recommendations to assist the government and other stakeholders to ensure fair recruitment processes for migrant workers moving forward.