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DMW Approved Job Orders by Country: 131,000 Orders Counted
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Quick answer
We counted DMW approved job orders by country using the public list of the Department of Migrant Workers. Our copy holds 131,001 job orders for 176 destinations. Saudi Arabia (22,633 orders) and Japan (21,857) hold about a third of them. Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar come next. The six Gulf states together hold 35% of the orders we could link to an agency.
These are counts of approved orders. They are not counts of workers, and they do not show which jobs are still open.
What is a DMW approved job order?
A job order starts as a foreign employer's request for workers. When DMW approves it for a licensed recruitment agency, that agency may recruit for that employer, country and position. Only an agency with a valid license may recruit you, and only for an approved job order.
The DMW list shows each approved order with:
- the agency name
- the jobsite country
- the position title
- the date of approval
- a balance, the number of workers still listed for that order
A balance can already be filled by the time you read it. Treat it as what the list shows on that day, not as a count of open jobs. Our guide on how to check an agency explains both DMW searches step by step.
Which countries have the most approved job orders?
The table shows the 15 destinations with the most orders in our count. It covers the 128,939 orders we could link to an agency on the DMW license list (816 agencies in all). The share column is the part of those 128,939 orders.
| Destination | Job orders | Share | Agencies with orders | Position titles | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 22,633 | 17.6% | 539 | 3,311 | 177,744 |
| Japan | 21,857 | 17.0% | 250 | 1,576 | 166,036 |
| Taiwan | 8,749 | 6.8% | 92 | 64 | 102,061 |
| United Arab Emirates | 7,218 | 5.6% | 333 | 1,599 | 65,952 |
| Qatar | 6,599 | 5.1% | 373 | 1,639 | 43,460 |
| Papua New Guinea | 6,370 | 4.9% | 52 | 1,606 | 23,559 |
| Australia | 6,261 | 4.9% | 122 | 817 | 44,394 |
| Kuwait | 3,913 | 3.0% | 295 | 899 | 28,590 |
| Bahrain | 2,413 | 1.9% | 211 | 700 | 27,461 |
| Malaysia | 2,365 | 1.8% | 234 | 980 | 55,863 |
| Oman | 2,052 | 1.6% | 194 | 548 | 31,809 |
| Palau | 1,996 | 1.5% | 18 | 693 | 7,861 |
| Hungary | 1,883 | 1.5% | 79 | 694 | 23,884 |
| Croatia | 1,703 | 1.3% | 82 | 470 | 16,563 |
| Singapore | 1,670 | 1.3% | 159 | 477 | 49,027 |
| 158 other destinations | 31,257 | 24.2% | 388,434 | ||
| All destinations | 128,939 | 100% | 816 | 1,252,698 |
DMW approved job orders by destination, our count of the public list retrieved on 2 October 2026, source: https://dmw.gov.ph/inquiry/approved-job-orders
A few things stand out:
- Saudi Arabia and Japan are almost level on orders, but Saudi Arabia has more than twice as many agencies with orders (539 against 250).
- Taiwan has 8,749 orders but only 64 different position titles. The same few jobs repeat many times.
- Papua New Guinea and Palau are higher than many expect. Papua New Guinea has 6,370 orders from just 52 agencies, and Palau has 1,996 orders from 18.
- The Gulf (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman) holds 44,828 orders, or 35% of the linked total.
- Hong Kong has only 1,064 orders, yet a balance of 85,131. One order can list many workers.
You can browse every destination on our page of DMW job orders by country, or open a single one, such as Saudi Arabia, Japan or Taiwan.
How we counted. We read the public DMW approved job orders list on 2 October 2026, one search per agency name, and counted distinct published rows. Exact duplicate rows were removed. Rows with impossible approval dates were left out, and negative balances were counted as zero. We linked an order to an agency only on an exact or unique name match. One ambiguous agency name has 2,062 rows that we did not attribute to any agency, which is why the table covers 128,939 of the 131,001 orders. The rows are dated from 2013 to 2026, but most are recent: 6,638 in 2023, 32,812 in 2024, 50,584 in 2025 and 40,691 in 2026 up to 2 October.
What kinds of work do the orders cover?
The list uses 17,648 different position titles. Many mean the same job written in a different way. Even the most common title, "worker factory", appears on 7,218 orders, about 1 in 18.
Grouping the most common titles gives a rough picture:
| Type of work | Titles on the list | Job orders |
|---|---|---|
| Household work | Worker household service, domestic helper, housemaid, worker domestic | 8,611 |
| Factory work | Worker factory | 7,218 |
| Welding | Welder, welding | 2,536 |
| Family driver | Driver family | 1,330 |
| Care work | Worker care | 1,091 |
| Farm work | Cultivation agriculture | 1,010 |
Job orders for the most common position titles, grouped by type of work, source: https://dmw.gov.ph/inquiry/approved-job-orders
Other titles that appear often are cook (928), cleaner (916), hairdresser (881), waiter (875) and nurse (849). Since the same job can carry many titles, the real totals for each type of work are higher than the table shows.
What do these numbers not show?
The counts are useful for seeing where approved orders go. They can also be misread. Keep these limits in mind:
- They are not open jobs. A balance may already be filled. Only the agency and DMW can confirm what is still needed.
- They are not a count of workers deployed. An order is permission to recruit. It does not show how many people actually left.
- They do not judge agencies or countries. A high count says nothing about pay, conditions or how an employer treats workers. It is not a ranking.
- The growth by year may not be real growth. The public list holds mostly recent orders, so older years look smaller than they were.
- Titles are messy. The same job can appear under many names, so the type of work groupings are only a guide.
How can I use the job order list before I pay an agency?
Use it as a check, not as a job board. Before you pay anything or sign any paper:
- Search the agency on the DMW list of licensed recruitment agencies. Read the license status and expiry date.
- Search the same agency on the DMW approved job orders page. Check that the country and the position match what you were offered.
- If the agency has no approved order for that country, ask it to explain and report it to DMW if the answer is not clear.
- Read about the rules and services in your destination, for example on our pages for Saudi Arabia and Japan.
You can also look up any agency's license status and job orders on our DMW agency search. Our pages copy the public DMW lists, so confirm on the DMW website before you act.
Frequently asked questions
What is a DMW approved job order?
It is a foreign employer's request for workers that the Department of Migrant Workers has approved for a licensed recruitment agency. The approval lets that agency recruit for that employer, country and position. Each order on the DMW list shows the agency, the jobsite country, the position, the date of approval and a balance, which is the number of workers still listed for that order.
Which country has the most DMW approved job orders?
In our count of the public DMW list, Saudi Arabia has the most, with 22,633 orders. Japan is close behind with 21,857. Together they hold about a third of the 128,939 orders we could link to an agency. Taiwan, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar follow. These are counts of orders, not of workers or jobs still open.
Does a job order on the DMW list mean the job is still open?
No. A job order shows that DMW approved an employer's request for a licensed agency. The balance on the list is the number of workers still listed for that order, and it can already be filled by the time you look. Ask the agency, and check the DMW list again, before you pay anything or sign any paper.
How do I check if an agency has an approved job order?
Open the approved job orders page on the DMW website and search for the agency name. Then check that the country and the position match what you were offered. Also check the agency on the DMW list of licensed recruitment agencies and read its license status and expiry date. Both searches are free and need no account.
Is a country with many job orders a better place to work?
The numbers do not say that. A high count shows how many orders DMW approved for that destination. It says nothing about pay, working conditions or how employers treat workers. Some orders cover one worker and others cover hundreds. Read the country page for the rules and services there, and check each offer on its own.
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