Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are predicted to grow by 4 percent this 2022 and in 2023 as well, based on the latest forecasts by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP),
In 2021, OFWs remitted a record-breaking $34.88 billion, accounting for 8.9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). This increased by 5.1 percent over the previous year’s $33.19 billion.
‘The growth in personal remittances reflected a pickup in OFW deployment, strong demand for OFWs amid the reopening of host economies to foreign workers, and the continued shift to digital support that facilitated inward transfer of remittances,’ the central bank said.
RELATED STORY: Overseas Filipinos’ remittances sustained growth in January 2022
In a media briefing BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno said: “It is now getting more and more difficult [for remittances] to grow at 5 percent, 7 percent or so, because we already have a huge base.”
“It would have been easier if we had $10 billion a year, but at more than $30 billion a year, a growth of 4 percent or 5 percent is substantial,” Diokno added.
Diokno noted that remittances have aided consumption in the Philippines during the pandemic.
READ ON: Filipino women comprise majority of OFWs, but only comprise 44.47 percent of remittances – PSA
Based on the BSP’s Fourth Quarter 2021 Consumer Expectations Survey, remittance recipients spent the money on food and other family necessities (96 percent), education (50.5 percent), medical expenditures (45.8 percent), and savings (31.7 percent).
According to Diokno, the BSP is encouraging senders and recipients to save and invest more of their remittances through promoting financial literacy among them.
