Finding Their Place in the Sun: Young Filipinos in International Labor Migration

International migration for employment has been prominent in Philippine society in the last 40 years. For many Filipinos, migration is part of their lived experiences as members of transnational households of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). This paper interrogates international migration in the life aspirations and experiences of young Filipinos (i.e., those in the ages 15-24) by addressing the following questions: (1) what are their migration intentions? (2) what are the scale, profile and patterns of the international migration of young Filipinos? (3) how do the drivers and the migration patterns of young Filipinos compare with those of older Filipinos? and (4) what do the migration intentions and realities of youth migrants imply for policy-making? Data for the paper were drawn from the authors’ previous research on migration, a review of the literature, migration data and migration policies, complemented by additional qualitative data from focus group discussions with selected youth groups. Persistent higher youth unemployment frames the intentions and decisions of young Filipinos to work abroad. The concentration of young Filipino migrants in less skilled and unprotected occupations call for policies and programs to reduce their vulnerabilities in their search for livelihood and a better life.