Main growth contributors were transportation and construction; services sector posted highest positive growth
(Eagle News) – The Philippine economy grew by 7.4 percent in the second quarter of 2022, mostly due to growth in the construction sector and transportation and storage, according to figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The figure, however, was lower than the first quarter growth figure of 8.3 percent, and also lower than the fourth quarter of 2021 growth rate at 7.8 percent.
Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno reassured the public that the economy is still on a steady path to recovery and expansion.
“All the three major sectors — agriculture, industry, and services — posted positive growth rates despite the increase in international commodity prices, indicating a rebound in overall economic activity,” he said.
According to PSA, the services sector grew the highest at 9.1 percent followed by industry at 6.3 percent; and agriculture, forestry, and fishing at 0.2 percent.
“Private domestic demand likewise expanded with household consumption (8.6 percent growth rate) and gross capital formation (20.5 percent growth rate) providing robust support to the economy, Diokno added.
He said the strong growth in the second quarter reflects the increase in mobility, better labor conditions, and government’s support to growth.
“The main contributors to the second quarter 2022 growth were: Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, 9.7 percent; Construction, 19.0 percent; and Transportation and storage, 27.1 percent,” the PSA said in a report by Undersecretary Dennis Mapa.
-Growth still within target-
The PSA said that Net Primary Income (NPl) from the Rest of the World grew by 64.8 percent. This brought the Gross National Income (GNI) to grow by 9.3 percent in the second quarter of 2022.
Diokno said that the robust economic performance for the second quarter remains within the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s (DBCC) GDP growth target of 6.5 to 7.5 percent for 2022.
“Our growth figure of 7.4 percent of GDP sits comfortably at the higher end of our target band for the year. This is an impressive achievement, more so with the ongoing challenges of rising inflation worldwide and an uncertain global political economy,” the Finance chief said.
Diokno explained that real GDP growth for the first half of the year averaged at 7.8 percent, above the DBCC target.
He also stressed that the DBCC growth targets for the year remain doable given bright economic prospects.
“In order to achieve the lower bound of the growth forecast of 6.5 percent, the Philippine economy has to grow by only 5.2 percent in the second half of the year. To achieve the upper bound of 7.5 percent, the economy has to grow by 7.6 percent,” he said.
(Eagle News Service)