Global OFW deployment breaches 1M mark

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Sunday reported that the global deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has breached the one-million mark as of December 9, while global OFW remittances totaled a record US$ 11.9 (about P490.3 billion) during the first 10 months of the year.

Labor and Employment Secretary Arturo D. Brion said that total global OFW deployment reached 1,012,954 in more than 190 host destinations worldwide from January 1 to December 9, surpassing the annual one-million OFW deployment goal by 1.3 percent (+12,954).

The Labor Secretary, amidst the growth in deployment, also expressed confidence that at the current growth rate, global OFW remittances will continue to approach, if not reach, US$ 14 billion for the first time in history by year end 2007.

Brion said that this year's global deployment of OFWs had been boosted by a 5.2 percent growth (+23,619) in the numbers of rehired OFWs in the land-based sector from 453,643 in the same period in 2006 to 477,262 in the same period this year.

He said the growth in the rehired segment resulted in a positive global gain of 1.1 percent (+8,241) in total land-based OFW deployment to 766,340 from January 1 to December 9 this year, from 758,099 in the same period last year.

Brion said that on top of the 766,340 land-based OFWs globally deployed, a total of 246,614 overseas Filipino seafarers have also been deployed this year.

He added that, "the deployment of overseas Filipino seafarers is strongly complemented by the total number of contracts processed per worker by the DOLE's Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), which surged by 8.5 percent (+28,787) from 337,140 in the same period last year to 365,927 this year."

Meanwhile, Brion cited a report of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) that the US$ 11.9 billion remitted by the OFWs from January to October 2007, represents an increase of 15.2 percent relative to the US$ 10.2 billion remittances recorded in the same period in 2006.

The BSP observed that growth in remittances was consistent with recovery in deployment, citing preliminary POEA figures that total OFW deployment numbers in October climbed by 3.9 percent to 88,058 --- the fourth consecutive month that the figure was higher compared to the same months last year.

Brion further noted that the increase in remittance inflows is attributable to greater access by OFWs to remittance centers and their tie-ups with foreign financial institutions, which are facilitated by the BSP for the benefit of the country's modern day heroes and their families back home.

According to the BSP, the globally enhanced financial services in banks and non-bank channels provided encouragement to OFWs particularly in the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong, which are the major sources of remittances throughout the year.

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