MONEY sent home by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) rose to US$2.9 billion in May 2019, a 5.5 percent increase from $2.7 billion in May 2018.
On a cumulative basis, personal remittances for the period January to May 2019 increased by 4.1 percent to reach $13.7 billion from last year’s level of $13.2 billion, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Monday, July 15, 2019.
The steady growth in personal remittances during the first five months of 2019 drew support from the remittance inflows from land-based OFWs with work contracts of one year or more, which totaled $10.5 billion from $10.2 billion in the same period last year.
Inflows from the compensation of sea-based workers and land-based workers with short-term contracts also contributed to this growth and totaled $2.9 billion from $2.7 billion a year ago.
By country source, the US registered the highest share of overall remittances for January to May 2019 at 36 percent. It was followed by Saudi Arabia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, the UK, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Qatar and Kuwait. PR