The Philippines has emerged as the second most AI-exposed labor market in Southeast Asia, highlighting both the country’s growing digital competitiveness and the urgent need to prepare workers for a workplace increasingly shaped by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI).
A new International Labour Organization (ILO) study found that 28.1 percent of Philippine employment is in occupations with more than minimal exposure to GenAI, trailing only Singapore at 42.2 percent. The Philippines ranked ahead of Indonesia at 21.7 percent, Vietnam at 20.8 percent, and Thailand at 20.6 percent, reflecting its large business process outsourcing (BPO), information technology, and knowledge-based services sectors.
The findings reinforce the Philippines’ status as one of the region’s leading digital services hubs, but they also underscore the need for businesses and policymakers to accelerate workforce upskilling as AI adoption gathers pace.
Contrary to fears of widespread job losses, the ILO said GenAI is more likely to reshape work than replace workers. Across ASEAN, nearly 80 million workers, or 22.9 percent of total employment, are in occupations exposed to GenAI, yet only 3.3 percent are in jobs facing the highest level of exposure. Around two-thirds of workers remain in occupations with little or no exposure to the technology.
The report suggests AI’s biggest impact will be on how tasks are performed, particularly in administrative, professional, and technology-intensive occupations, where automation is expected to enhance productivity rather than eliminate jobs outright.
The ILO also found that women are more than twice as likely as men to work in highly exposed occupations because they are more heavily represented in clerical and professional roles, making gender-responsive workforce policies increasingly important.
While Singapore leads the region in AI readiness through advanced digital infrastructure and coordinated government support, the ILO said the Philippines has an opportunity to turn its high AI exposure into a competitive advantage.
Doing so, however, will require sustained investments in digital skills, workforce reskilling, MSME adoption of AI technologies, and stronger social protection to ensure workers can adapt as AI transforms industries rather than displaces them.
