The study was conducted by XMG Inc., an IT-focused analyst firm founded by Filipino Lauro Vives that maintains offices in Canada and the Philippines.

Among survey respondents who picked newspapers when looking for employment, a large majority of the respondents (65.32 percent) indicated that they prefer Manila Bulletin. This was followed by the Philippine Daily Inquirer (25.43 percent), Philippine Star (6.94 percent) and Manila Standard Today (1.16 percent).

Other newspapers not mentioned among the choices were around 3.47 percent.

"The results show that Manila Bulletin is indeed the primary choice of newspaper for employment purposes.

Furthermore, this validates XMG’s Media Channel Index for the preferred broadsheet, particularly, the top three newspaper preferences," the study noted.

However, the results of the survey also put newspapers as the fourth "most effective recruitment channel" after referrals, Internet, and other sources of job openings (job fairs, walk in applications, and internships). None of the respondents indicated any job openings learned either through the radio or billboard.

The research company said it conducted the survey to "help recruitment organization decide on how to funnel its resources for recruitment." "It is imperative to identify appropriate channels to recruit by understanding what materials that would reach the talent effectively. This entails knowing the methods in reaching out to the talent while using existing recruitment channels," it said.

Results showed that around 78.03 percent of the total respondents purchase newspapers for employment purposes while 21.97 percent indicate otherwise.

"With a clear majority of respondents who buys newspapers for employment, this suggests that job postings on a broadsheet paper still continue to attract a significant proportion of the labor force due to its wide accessibility and large readership," the research firm said.

XMG said it raised a follow-up question for the respondents concerning specific days they buy newspapers for employment. Sunday was noted to have the highest percentage when it comes to preference for buying newspapers, accounting for 91.85 percent of the respondents surveyed.

Saturday was the next preferred day of the respondents when buying a newspaper at 11.11 percent. Weekdays (Mondays to Fridays) had very small percentages, especially for Wednesdays, which accounts for 0.74 percent of the total respondents. A small fraction (2.96 percent) did not indicate any specific day when buying a newspaper.

"Figures derived from the survey only imply that to attract a large number of applicants, job postings should be made on weekends, especially on Sundays, where the labor force has ample time to browse through the job postings," the research company suggested.

XMG said it was able to examine the different sourcing strategies for recruitment by looking at the proportion of respondents utilizing a particular recruitment channel for employment. Respondents were asked how they learned about the job opening of their current or previous work.

Referral (i.e. word of mouth) topped the list with 37.57 percent of the respondents. The study explained that this can be attributed to the reliability of the information given by the referees. "Additionally, there is a greater likelihood that people will be enthused to join a company if they know someone (acquaintances, friends, or family relatives) employed in the organization."

Job openings known through the Internet followed, cornering 27.75 percent of the total respondents. "It only shows that ICT talents can access the Internet, hence providing ICT companies a wider reach in targeting the labor force," XMG observed.

Meanwhile, 19.08 percent of the respondents used other sources of job openings. Job openings learned through newspaper ads account for 10.98 percent of the respondents and employment opportunities coursed through head hunters is figured at 4.62 percent.