Economy grows 7.3% in Q1, highest in 3 decades — NEDA

(Updated 1:57) The Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.3 percent in the first quarter, the highest first-quarter growth rate in thirty years, driven by all subsectors of the economy. The GDP registered a 0.5-percent growth in the first three months of 2009, the National Economic and Development Authority said Thursday. "The economic growth in the first quarter of 2010 translated to an increase in employment of almost two million (1,730,000). Employment creation was seen more on services, followed by industry. The continued strong inflows of remittances and the increase in employment particularly in services both fueled consumption, said Augusto B. Santos, director-general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). The improvement in the global economy, brighter economic outlook, increased business and consumer confidence, and election-related spending all contributed to the resurgence in economic activities. "These more than offset the adverse impacts of El Niño in the production of the agriculture sector, particularly the crops and fishery subsectors," Santos said. The GDP is a measure of goods and services a country produces in a given period, minus the transactions with other countries – or the import and export shipments – which are reflected by the gross national product. Growth was driven by industry, fueled by the recovery in manufacturing, data from the National Statistical Coordinating Board (NSCB) showed. In particular, petroleum products and coal, food manufacturing, and electrical machinery were the major contributors to the growth of the sector. Services also improved, with trade, private services, and finance performing much better than in the first three months of 2009. "Except for Agriculture, which was parched by the El Niño dry spell and the saturated communications subsector, all subsectors of the economy drew vigor from the global economic recovery, election-related stimuli and the unbridled growth of income of our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers)," NSCB Secretary-General Romulo A. Virola said in a statement. "Manufacturing rebounded astoundingly, supported by hefty contributions from trade and private services, particularly recreational and business services," the NSCB said. "Given this preliminary first quarter estimate, we expect an upward revision in the full year 2010 GDP growth rate projection of 2.6-3.6 percent," according to Santos. The Development Budget Coordination Committee would meet in the coming weeks to discuss the revisions in these growth assumptions, he said. Still, among the neighboring economies, the Philippines' 7.3 percent was "less spectacular" than the others, NEDA said. Singapore posted a 15.5-percent GDP growth, Thailand with 12 percent, and Malaysia with 10.1 percent. These double-digit growth rates came from from contractions in the first quarter of 2009. The 7.3 percent registered by the Philippines, however, was faster than Indonesia’s 5.7 percent and Vietnam's 5.8 percent. Taiwan's economy grew 13.3 percent, mainland China posted 11.9 percent, Hong Kong – a special administrative region of China's – recorded 8.2 percent, and South Korea reported 7.8 percent, NEDA records showed —VS, GMANews.TV