The total number of deployed overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) reached 1,284,133 in various host countries from January to November 2009, according to data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Authorities (POEA). This is more than the 1,149,429 OFWs who went abroad in 2008 or an increase of 11.7 per cent.
The records also showed a 19 percent gain in rehires among land-based workers to 666,158 in 2009 from 559,809 in 2008.
Overseas Filipino workers queue at a special lane intended for them at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila.
Photo credit: aryty
Sea-based workers also increased by 22.5 percent to 297,467 in 2009 from 242,749 in 2008.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, in a statement, said it expected remittances to increase at a faster rate of six percent in 2010 due to the global economic recovery.
Major sources of remittances from January to August this year include the US, Canada, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Japan, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Italy, and Germany.
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