Global slump fails to dampen remittances

A weak global economy has not stopped the rise of remittances from overseas Filipinos, who sent $1.7 billion in July—up by 6.1 percent from the $1.62 billion in the same month last year.

Remittances from Filipinos overseas continued to rise in July despite the persistent weakness of the global economy and the rise of worrisome labor conditions in some areas.

“The steady inflow of fund transfers from overseas Filipinos, despite the difficult conditions overseas, could be explained partly by the sustained demand for Filipino manpower,” Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a statement.

In a report, the central bank said money sent home by Filipino migrant workers reached $1.7 billion in July—up by 6.1 percent from the $1.62 billion reported in the same month last year.

As a result, cumulative remittances for the first seven months of the year reached $11.35 billion, rising by 6.3 percent from the $10.68 billion seen in the same period a year ago.

From January to July, remittances came mostly from Filipino workers based in the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Italy and Germany.

Citing data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the central bank said remittances would likely increase further, considering the rise in job orders.

Approved job orders, which are expected to translate to actual deployment within the short term, reached 162,574 in the first seven months of the year.

Demand for Filipino workers came from various employers based in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Qatar, Kuwait and Hong Kong, among others.

However, the rate of growth in remittances reported in July was not as fast as central bank officials had expected.

Earlier this year, monetary officials projected a minimum 7-percent growth of remittances in 2011.

The central bank said economic problems around the world have dampened the ability of some companies to hire workers, thus tempering the growth in global demand for Filipino laborers.

These problems include the downgrade of the United States’ credit rating, the debt crisis in the Euro zone, the social unrest in some countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the natural calamities that struck Japan.

The BSP said that although these factors could have dampened growth in remittances, money sent home by Filipino migrants could still register a year-on-year growth at the end of the year.

“The favorable remittance outlook is expected to be supported by the ongoing geographic diversification of deployment of Filipino workers and efforts by the government to redeploy displaced workers in crisis-stricken countries.

Earlier this week, some Filipinos working in Syria were sent home due to the continuing unrest there which had affected businesses and employment.

The government said labor programs are in place to help displaced Filipino workers find employment abroad.