Personal remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) posted a new record high of US$3.49 billion in December 2022, up by 5.7 per cent from the US$3.30 billion recorded in December 2021.
In a media advisory, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said that the increase in personal remittances in December 2022 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.
Consequently, the full-year 2022 personal remittances also reached an all-time high of US$36.14 billion. This level was 3.6 per cent higher than the US$34.88 billion remittance flows in 2021.
The robust inward remittances reflected the increasing demand for foreign workers amid the reopening of economies. The full-year 2022 level accounted for 8.9 per cent and 8.4 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Gross National Income (GNI), respectively.
Of the personal remittances from OFs, cash remittances coursed through banks grew by 5.8 per cent to US$3.16 billion in December 2022, from US$2.99 billion registered in the same month in 2021.
The expansion in cash remittances in December 2022 was due to the growth in receipts from land- and sea-based workers.
The growth in cash remittances from the United States (U.S.), Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Qatar, and the United Kingdom contributed largely to the increase in remittances in January-December 2022.
In terms of country sources, meanwhile, the U.S. posted the highest share of overall remittances in 2022, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
