Remittances hit all-time high in October

Cash sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) grew at its fastest pace in nine months to reach an all-time high of $2.06 billion in October, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Monday showed.

The amount of remittances in October increased the likelihood that the government’s full-year growth projection of 5 percent would be breached despite weak global economic conditions.

“Sustained demand for skilled and professional Filipino manpower overseas supported the steady rise in remittances for the first 10 months of the year,” the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said in a statement.

Overseas Filipinos’ cash remittances in October were up 7 percent year-on-year. This was the fastest expansion since January this year, when remittances grew by 8 percent.

This brought the remittances since the start of the year to a 10-month record high of $18.54 billion, up 6 percent from the year before.

Cash transfers for the 10-month period from both land- and sea-based workers reached $14.2 billion and $4.3 billion, respectively.

OFWs based in the United States sent home the most money for the period, followed by those in Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Singapore, Canada and Japan, the BSP said.

The central bank, which tracks the entry of remittances in the country, cited data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) showing that approved job orders for the 10 months reached 675,966, of which about 40 percent were for the services, production, professional and technical industries.

Bulk of the job orders came from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Qatar.

Apart from sustained demand for Filipino workers, the BSP said the continued expansion of remittance networks of local banks made it more convenient for OFWs to send money home.

“The continued presence of bank and nonbank service providers in foreign countries through tie-ups and remittance centers contributed to strong remittance flows,” the BSP said.

About a tenth of the country’s population is based overseas. The money they send home is a major source of foreign exchange that keeps the local currency strong. Remittances are also among the main drivers of consumer demand, which contributes two thirds to gross domestic product (GDP).