THE country is on track to sustain its growth in the fourth quarter following positive developments in its unemployment status and manufacturing output, the finance chief said on Thursday.
Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said the country’s recent economic numbers “all point to a sustained, strong fourth quarter economic performance.”
Diokno noted that the domestic jobs market continues to improve as the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 17 years while both manufacturing production and capacity utilization rose.
He added that the Philippine peso has stabilized against the US dollar and has regained footing to grow stronger at the same time as world prices are falling to levels approximating the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“With strong [fourth quarter] growth the implication is that with the peso stabilizing and oil prices falling, inflation, which is the top concern of the present administration, will soon fall,” Diokno said in a statement on Thursday.
The national government is eyeing to grow the country’s economy by 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent this year.
Earlier, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan said the country only needs to grow by at least 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter to meet the full-year growth target following the surprising 7.6 percent economic expansion in the third quarter.
Diokno noted that the current unemployment rate fell to 4.5 percent while underemployment slid to 14.2 percent in October.
“The average number of hours worked increased too in October compared to September this year,” he said.
“The related employment numbers are equally encouraging,” he added.
Meanwhile, Diokno pointed out that domestic manufacturing, based on the Philippine Statistics Authority’s Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries, posted a fifth consecutive month of growth, increasing by 5.1 percent in October.
“This year the country recorded contractions in April and May. But since June the Volume of Production Index (VoPI) has been growing,” he said.
“The manufacturing sector posted its highest average capacity utilization rate for the year at 72.4 percent in October 2022. The manufacturing sector is recovering well,” he added.
The Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) earlier maintained its GDP growth target for this year at 6.5 to 7.5 percent. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2022/12/06/global-risks-cut-phl-growth-goal-for-2023/)
However, the DBCC revised downward its GDP growth target for 2023 to 6 to 7 percent from 6.5 to 8 percent on the back of global headwinds.
“This momentum is expected to slightly decelerate in 2023 and range from 6.0 to 7.0 percent, considering external headwinds such as the slowdown in major advanced economies,” Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said at the DBCC press conference on Monday.