Manila, June 12 -- A total of 17 applicants were hired on the spot, four of them for overseas employment, during the government's Independence Day job fair in this Negros Oriental capital on Thursday.

Ma. Socorro Mira, head of the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) here, said 13 local companies and five overseas manning agencies participated in the job fair, which offered over 1,000 positions.

The participating companies mostly belong in the service and food industry such as hotels and restaurants, and business process outsourcing, she added.

Raizza Phoebe Rubia, public information officer of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in the province, said that as of 4 p.m., four jobseekers were hired for local positions and f...