Philippines continues to climb In the World competitiveness ranking

Source：Manila Bulletin Release Date：2013-06-21 306

Metalworking

With a 7.8 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in the first quarter of 2013 that surpassed market and government expectations following the robust performance of all major sectors during the period, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) expects the ratings to improve even further if the kind of growth the economy is experiencing is maintained throughout the year.

In this year's World Competitiveness Rankings, the country climbed to No. 38 from No. 43 in 2012 among 60 economies reviewed and is the biggest gainer among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The Department of Trade and Industry said the Philippines ranked 11th among Asia-Pacific countries, up from 13th in 2011 and 2012.

The country improved its ranking in three out of the four factors - economic performance (from 42nd to 31st), government efficiency (from 32nd to 31st), and business efficiency (from 26th to 19th). The double-digit improvement in economic performance can be attributed to big gains in real GDP growth, growth in exports of goods, and international trade.

The 6.6 GDP growth in 2012 boosted overall productivity growth, measured as change of real GDP per person employed. On employment, NEDA is aiming to generate one to two million jobs every year as the labor force is increasing by one million every year, to be able to reduce the number of the unemployed and the underemployed. NEDA will focus on potential job-generating sectors like infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, logistics, business process outsourcing/information technology, shipbuilding, housing, and the halal food industry.

Levis X Jordan 6