National Economic Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan was pleased to announce the Philippine economy grew 7.6 percent in 2022, exceeding the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s target of 6.5 to 7.5 percent for the year.
This, he said, is based on the report of National Statistician Dennis Mapa, who noted the economy grew by 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, exceeding the median analyst forecast of 6.8 percent.
This robust fourth-quarter growth implies a 7.6 percent full-year growth in 2022.
This has put the Philippines first among the major emerging economies in the region that have released their Q4 2022 real GDP growth. The country is followed by Vietnam at 5.9 percent and China at 2.9 percent.  
On a seasonally adjusted quarter-on-quarter basis, the Philippine economy expanded by 2.4 percent, driven by increased economic activity mainly from pent-up demand as the economy fully reopened in the last three months of 2022.
“Our robust performance in the fourth quarter reflected strong domestic demand, with three-fourths contributed by household consumption and almost a fifth by investment.
The improvements in labor market conditions, increased tourism, “revenge” and holiday spending, and resumption of face-to-face classes supported growth in the quarter, further reflecting a solid rebound in consumer and investor confidence in the economy,” Mr. Balisacan said, in a media conference.
He went on to say that the growth in domestic demand was met by expansion in the services and industry sectors, with production in most subsectors back to their pre-pandemic levels.
“Services growth was mainly driven by wholesale and retail trade, while the expansion of manufacturing and construction subsectors supported industry growth. In contrast, agricultural output slightly declined in the fourth quarter, highlighting the need to strengthen the sector’s productivity and resilience against natural disasters, animal diseases, and climate change,” the secretary added.
Mr. Balisacan also stressed the said economic growth came with more jobs.
“We saw vibrant labor market conditions, with the country’s unemployment rate down to 4.2 percent in November 2022 from 6.5 percent in the same period in 2021. This performance marks our lowest unemployment rate since 2005. We also observed an improvement in the quality of employment relative to the same period last year, as more workers found remunerative and stable work in private establishments and became employed in full-time jobs,” he said.
