Overseas Filipinos send $1.79 billion back home in January

Filipinos working and living overseas sent home in January US$1.79 billion, 5.9 per cent more than the $1.69bn in the year-earlier period on continued strong demand for Philippine manpower and the expansion of local banks’ money-transfer services worldwide, the central bank said Monday.

The central bank expects 5 per cent growth in remittances this year after a record high $22.97bn in 2013.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said land-based workers accounted for $1.3bn of January remittances, up 4.9 per cent, while sea-based workers accounted for $450 million, up 9.1 per cent on year.

The cash remitted by workers in January came mostly from the US, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, Singapore, Japan and Canada.

The central bank said data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, which overseas the deployment of Filipinos who will work abroad, showed that 24,187 jobs were processed in January, nearly matching the 29,533 processed overseas jobs between January and February last year. Most of overseas jobs filled were intended for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Taiwan, Kawait and Qatar.

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