OFW inflows jump 15% to $2.5 billion in 2 months

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) recently reported that the remittances made by the Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) back home rose by 15.5% to $2.5 billion in the first two months of the year from a year ago level. In February, the remittances rose to $1.3 bn or 16% higher than the figure recorded in the same month last year. The fact that the number of skilled workers living abroad has risen sharply is accounted as the possible reason behind this trend. Workers deployed in the first two months of the year rose 14.6% to 199,378.

Last year, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported an increase in the number of OFWs which comprised of a significant number of trained professionals, including, doctors, engineers and teachers. The trend as evident has continued in the first few months of this year as well. Another curious fact is that the number of both sea based workers and land based workers has also gone up. Another reason that can be attributed to this positive trend is the assistance provided by the local banks and other financial institutions working at the grass root level. These institutions have facilitated the increase in the volume of the remittances received by the families of the OFWs. As far as the source of these remittances is concerned, countries like the US, UAE, UK, Italy and Japan were the top countries where the OFWs are based at the moment.