Workers’ compensation up 4.5% in Q2

The compensation of workers in selected industries rose in the second quarter from that of a year ago, firming up expectations that consumer demand within the economy would remain robust enough to ease the impact of volatile exports on the country’s growth.

The National Statistical Coordination Board said in its latest Quarterly Economic Indices (QEI) report that the compensation of workers grew year on year by an average of 4.5 percent in the three months to June.

The latest growth rate was slower than the 9.4 percent registered in the same period last year, but was faster than the second quarter inflation figure of 2.6 percent.

Industries covered by the QEI report included mining and quarrying, manufacturing, electricity and water, trade, transportation and communication, finance, trade, transport, finance, real estate and private services.

Finance registered the fastest growth rate in compensation at 17 percent, followed by mining and quarrying at 12.7 percent. The rest posted single-digit growth rates.

Neda Deputy Director General Emmanuel Esguerra said the increase in the latest compensation index for selected industries was a welcome development because it would help boost consumption and overall domestic demand.

Strong domestic demand has been widely credited for helping accelerate growth of the Philippine economy.

Household consumption was said to have more than offset the adverse impact of the decline in export earnings on the economy.

Although exports earnings fell by 4.4 percent year-on-year to 25.59 billion in the first half of the year, the Philippine economy still managed to grow by 7.6 percent during the same period. It was the fastest rate of rise in in Asia, matching only that of China.

The increase in the revenues of selected industries led to the rise in workers’ compensation. Growing revenues reflected the overall increase in economic activity in the country, Esguerra said.

The QEI report showed that revenues of the same industries grew year-on-year by 9.6 percent in the second quarter. It was, however, slower than the 10.1-percent recorded in the same period of 2012.