Economy of the Philippines

By IBTimes Staff Reporter

on December 14 2013 8:12 PM

The Economy of the Philippines is the 35th largest in the world, according to
2013 International Monetary Fund statistics, and is also one of the emerging markets in
the world. The Philippines is considered as a newly industrialized country, which has
been transitioning from being one based on agriculture to one based more on services
and manufacturing. According to the World Bank ICP 2011, the estimated 2011 GDP
(purchasing power parity) was $543.7 billion. Goldman Sachs estimates that by the year
2050, the Philippines will be the 14th largest economy in the world, Goldman Sachs
also included the Philippines in its list of the Next Eleven economies. According to
HSBC, the Philippine economy will become the 16th largest economy in the world, 5th
largest economy in Asia and the largest economy in the Southeast Asian region by
2050.
Primary exports include semiconductors and electronic products, transport
equipment, garments, copper products, petroleum products, coconut oil, and fruits.
Major trading partners include the United States, Japan, China, Singapore, South
Korea, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Germany, Taiwan, and Thailand. The Philippines
has been named as one of the Tiger Cub Economies together with Indonesia, Malaysia
and Thailand. It is currently one of Asia's fastest growing economies. However, major
problems remain, mainly having to do with alleviating the wide income and growth
disparities between the country's different regions and socioeconomic classes, reducing
corruption, and investing in the infrastructure necessary to ensure future growth.
The Philippine economy has been growing steadily over decades and the
International Monetary Fund in 2011 reported it as the 45th largest economy in the
world. However its growth has been behind that of many of its Asian neighbors, the socalled Asian Tigers, and it is not a part of the Group of 20 nations. Instead it is open
grouped in a second tier of emerging markets or of newly industrialized countries.
Depending upon the analyst, this second tier can go by the name the Next Eleven or the
Tiger Cub Economies.
In the years 2012 and 2013, the Philippines posted high GDP growth rates,
reaching 6.8% in 2012 and 7.2% in 2013, the highest GDP growth rates in Asia for the
first two quarters of 2013, followed by China and Indonesia.

Unemployment woes not over, says

ILO
MANILA, PhilippinesThe International Labor Organization has warned the
Philippines that the worst is not over in the employment front. Although the government
claims it has reduced the unemployment rate through emergency employment
measures, it does not mean that the worst has passed.
The report warns us of a W-shaped recovery. It is possible for the economy and
employment to grow but the rate of growth is likely to slow or dip, so it is crucial to have
job protection policies in place, ILO country representative Linda Wirth said in a
statement.
The United Nations agency said the Philippines and other countries should
continue and expand their safety net programs. The financial crisis that led to record
unemployment rate worldwide has shrunk incomes and rendered vulnerable women
and youth.
The issue is not just open unemployment but vulnerable employment,
underemployment and a rise in the number of working poor as income shrinks. We see
workers living on the margin and at risk of falling further into poverty, Wirth noted.
Wirth said many workers who lost their jobs have yet to find jobs again, even as
governments talk of recovery in 2010. The Philippines export sector was severely hit by
the crisis.
Many workers who have lost their jobs in export-oriented industries cannot
afford to remain unemployed and instead will take any form of employment in the
informal sector to have some income, perhaps in farming or street vending, said Wirth.
In the Philippines, the unemployment rate rose slightly to 7.5 percent in 2009. To
cushion the effects of the crisis on the employment sector, the government set aside
billions of pesos for infrasture projects that would contractually employ about 500,000
workers.
The number of workers in vulnerable employment in the South-East Asia Pacific
region is estimated to have increased by up to 5 million since 2008, when the crisis was
felt all over the world, according to ILO.
The regional unemployment rate rose by 5.6 percent in 2009, and is expected to
remain steady in 2010, according to the ILO. The global unemployment rate rose to 6.6
percent in 2009, an increase of 0.9 percentage points over 2007.

http://www.inquirer.net/specialfeatures/jobs/view.php?article=20100127-249795

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