Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.
THE economic drivers, pre-pandemic, were OFW remittances and the BPO industry. We remained buoyant during the crucial pandemic years, again because of OFW remittances which registered a record high through banking channels of $31.4 billion in 2021. Cash remittances rose by 5.1 percent from $29.9 billion in 2020, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. If we add personal transfers in cash and the value of non-cash items brought, or sent, by Filipinos abroad, the overall amount of total personal remittances reached $34.9 billion, a record high and up by 5.1 percent from the $33.2 billion in 2020.
Personal remittances from OFWs accounted for 9.8 percent of the country's 2021 GDP. The increase happened in spite of almost a million OFWs who were repatriated (all for free) due to the pandemic. The BPO industry, on the other hand, contributes over 11 percent to the GDP. It is the single largest sector and employs over 1.2 million people across 1,000 outsourcing companies. This sector contributes $30 billion to the economy each year. It is estimated that the Philippines holds 10 to 15 percent of the global BPO market and could potentially grow between 8 to 10 percent every year with the changing work set-up because of the pandemic. This has led to the growth of the "gig economy," opening up to more workers doing WFH.
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