OFW deployment surges to 1.376 million in 2008

The total global deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) surged to more than 1.376 million in more than 190 host destinations worldwide in 2008, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) today reported.

At the same time, Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito D. Roque said that notwithstanding the global financial crisis, global OFW remittances to the country’s economy reached US$15 billion in the first 11 months (January to November) of 2008.

Roque cited a preliminary report of the DOLE’s Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) that a total of 1,376,823 OFWs were deployed worldwide in the entire 2008, representing a growth of 27.8 percent compared to the 1,077,623 OFWs deployed in 2007.

Roque was apprised by the POEA that on a daily basis, some 3,772 documented OFWs were deployed globally in 2008, adding that the more than 1.376 million OFWs deployed worldwide represents 137.7 percent of the country’s one million annual OFW deployment goal.

Meanwhile, the Labor Chief cited the latest update of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas that the $15 billion remitted by the OFWs to the country’s economy from January to November 2008 is 15.1 percent higher than the level recorded in the comparable period in 2007.

The BSP emphasized that the continued demand for professional and skilled OFWs in overseas economies substantially contributed to the sustained dollar remittance flows to the country in 2008.

Meanwhile, Roque said that the potential effects of the continuing global economic slowdown on deployment could be mitigated by the strong labor demand in host countries like Canada, Bulgaria, Australia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. The DOLE, through its Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLOs) in more than 30 strategic host destinations worldwide, continues to conduct marketing missions and employment facilitation programs to widen the productive opportunities for Filipino workers both in the local and global spheres.
Roque earlier indicated that the DOLE’s overseas employment facilitation efforts will complement the country’s responses to cushion and mitigate the effects of the ongoing global crisis on OFWs.