Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have once again proven to be one of the pillars of the country’s economy as the migrant workers register an increase in the total remittance for the month of July.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced that the OFW workforce sent home a total of $2.6 billion (Dh9.55 billion), an 8.7 percent increase from $2.35 billion (Dh8.63 billion) in the same period last year, Xinhua reported.
The latest statistic brings OFW remittance from January to July to $17.9 billion, a 5.9-percent increase from $16.9 last year.
BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said cash remittances, along with business process outsourcing business, have proven to be resilient in the past years.
“The sustained increase in OFW remittances was supported by stable demand for skilled OFWs abroad,” Xinhua quoted Guinigundo as saying.
The Filipino Times previously reported that OFWs from the US, UAE, Hong Kong, and Singapore have served as major contributors to the growth in cash remittances.
According to a recent BSP survey, more OFW households are using remittances for investment purposes. The percentage of OFW households that use the money sent by their OFW members have increased by 8.5 percent in the third quarter of 2017.
RELATED: OFWs in UAE help remittances surge to $2.8 billion in June 2017 https://filipinotimes.net/news/2017/08/16/ofws-in-uae-help-remittances-surge-to-2-8-billion-in-june-2017/
RELATED: More OFW families using remittances to invest https://filipinotimes.net/top-stories/2017/09/12/ofw-families-using-remittances-invest-says-bangko-sentral/
