MANILA, June 16 (PNA) — Strong demand for skilled Filipino workers continue to boost remittances sent to the Philippines, data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Monday showed.
Central bank data show that April 2014 cash remittances posted its highest level for the year at USD 1.91 billion, 5.2 percent higher than year-ago’s USD 1.82 billion and 1.65 percent higher than month-ago’s USD 1.88 billion.
Bulk of the remittances that went through the formal channel or the banks came from the US, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, UK, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong.
Inflows from land-based workers went up five percent year-on-year to USD 5.6 billion and those from sea-based workers grew by 8.3 percent to USD 1.8 billion.
“Remittance flows remained robust on the back of sustained demand for skilled Filipino workers,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a statement.
Citing initial data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), the central bank said approved job orders from January to April this year reached 319,888.
It said that 24.9 percent of the job orders are for requirements of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Kuwait, and Qatar for various sectors like service, production, and professional, technical and related fields.
Tetangco said banks and non-bank service providers’ expansion programs along with introduction of more innovative ways to send remittances also serve as keys to continued rise of remittances. (PNA)