MANILA, Philippines — Personal remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) increased by 2.55 percent in June, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said.
The 2.5 percent increase was translated to $3.21 billion in June 2024, higher compared to $3.13 billion in the same month last year.
“The increase in personal remittances in June 2024 was due to higher remittances sent by 1) land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and 2) sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year,” the BSP statement said Thursday.
From January to June 2024, OFWs sent $18.10 billion in remittances. This is 2.9 percent more than the $17.59 billion sent during the first half of 2023.
Where are these remittances from?
In June 2024, $2.88 billion was sent through banks, up by 2.5 percent from $2.81 billion in June 2023. The central bank said that the increase came from more money sent by workers overseas, both at sea and on land.
Cash remittances reached $16.25 billion from January to June, which is a 2.9 percent increase from the $15.79 billion cash remittances in the same period last year, it said.
The United States sent the most remittances with 40.9 percent, followed by Singapore with 6.9 percent, Saudi Arabia with 6 percent, Japan with 5 percent, and the United Kingdom with 5 percent as well.
Other countries with the high number of recorded remittances from OFWs include:
United Arab Emirates: 4.1 percent
Canada: 3.4 percent
Qatar: 2.9. Percent
Republic of Korea: 2.8 percent
Taiwan: 2.7 percent.
Other countries not included in the top 10 contributed the remaining 20.4 percent of the remaining remittances.
In February, BSP said the personal remittances from Filipinos abroad reached an all-time high of $37.2 billion, up by 3 percent from $36.1 billion in 2022.
The BSP said that remittances from overseas workers support the economy and help keep the country’s foreign currency reserves steady.
About 8.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and 7.7 percent of gross national income in the full year 2023 came from remittances, it said.
