Official: 3,000 overseas Filipinos lose jobs amid global crisis

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis　

MANILA, Dec. 22 (Chinese media) -- A total of 3,000 overseas Filipino workers have arrived home owing to losing their jobs since October amid the global financial crisis, an official said on Monday.

Many of the Filipinos laid off were factory workers from China's Taiwan and Macao, said Carmelita Dimzon, head of the Philippine Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.

"The numbers aren't alarming but it's a cause of concern," Dimzon was quoted by Philippine TV network GMA News as saying.

Meanwhile, about 3,500 Filipinos depart everyday for jobs overseas, added the official.

Factory workers in semiconductor companies in Taiwan were among the hardest hit by the global economic crisis, Dimzon said.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Agency would assist the laid-off workers by referring them to both local and overseas employment, according to the official.

More than 8 million Filipinos are living and working overseas, whose remittances play a critical role in the national economy of the country.