<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452><TBODY><TR vAlign=top><TD>Economy Watch
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published August 18, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Filipinos overseas send home record pay in June
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(MANILA) Filipinos working abroad sent home a record US$1.5 billion in June, the central bank said yesterday, boosting hopes that the country can avoid a recession this year.
The June figure, up 3.3 per cent year on year, takes the total sent back to the Philippines in the first half of the year to US$8.5 billion, the bank added in a statement, 2.9 per cent up on the same point in 2008.
'The continued growth of remittance flows since January this year accompanied by emerging signs of improving global economic conditions have affirmed the positive outlook for steady remittances for 2009,' central bank governor Amando Tetangco was quoted as saying.
He attributed the growth to 'the sustained foreign demand for highly-skilled and professional Filipino workers', as well as the wider availability of financial services to send those funds back.
Total remittances in 2008 hit US$16.4 billion, a 13.7 per cent increase on 2007.
The bank also forecast that the deployment of Filipinos abroad would remain steady despite the global crisis, citing new 'employment arrangements' between the Philippines and Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia and South Korea.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>It also cited the need for 4,000 Filipino medical workers in Libya and new markets for workers in such countries as Algeria, Chad, Malta, and Morocco.
The World Bank had previously predicted that the Philippines could suffer negative economic growth this year as the downturn caused more lay-offs in countries where the Philippines' nine million overseas workers are based.
However Manila has said that remittances would remain strong and the country could still avoid a recession because Filipino workers abroad often work in highly-skilled jobs and are less likely to be laid off.
The cash transfers are equivalent to nearly 10 per cent of the economic output of the Philippines and constitute a major source of foreign exchange and are a spur to both local consumption and investment.
Economic growth slowed to a 10-year low of 0.4 per cent in the first quarter but the government forecast the archipelago nation will avoid recession and record 0.8 per cent growth for the year. -- AFP
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published August 18, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Filipinos overseas send home record pay in June
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</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>(MANILA) Filipinos working abroad sent home a record US$1.5 billion in June, the central bank said yesterday, boosting hopes that the country can avoid a recession this year.
The June figure, up 3.3 per cent year on year, takes the total sent back to the Philippines in the first half of the year to US$8.5 billion, the bank added in a statement, 2.9 per cent up on the same point in 2008.
'The continued growth of remittance flows since January this year accompanied by emerging signs of improving global economic conditions have affirmed the positive outlook for steady remittances for 2009,' central bank governor Amando Tetangco was quoted as saying.
He attributed the growth to 'the sustained foreign demand for highly-skilled and professional Filipino workers', as well as the wider availability of financial services to send those funds back.
Total remittances in 2008 hit US$16.4 billion, a 13.7 per cent increase on 2007.
The bank also forecast that the deployment of Filipinos abroad would remain steady despite the global crisis, citing new 'employment arrangements' between the Philippines and Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Australia and South Korea.
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The World Bank had previously predicted that the Philippines could suffer negative economic growth this year as the downturn caused more lay-offs in countries where the Philippines' nine million overseas workers are based.
However Manila has said that remittances would remain strong and the country could still avoid a recession because Filipino workers abroad often work in highly-skilled jobs and are less likely to be laid off.
The cash transfers are equivalent to nearly 10 per cent of the economic output of the Philippines and constitute a major source of foreign exchange and are a spur to both local consumption and investment.
Economic growth slowed to a 10-year low of 0.4 per cent in the first quarter but the government forecast the archipelago nation will avoid recession and record 0.8 per cent growth for the year. -- AFP
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