The Philippine government said on Sunday it counts to deploy more skilled overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) this year to increase the national revenues.
Secretary Ignacio Bunye said he is confident that 2008 would be another banner year for OFWs marked by increased job opportunities and higher wages.
In his weekly column "The View From the Palace" posted on the government website, Bunye said Filipino migrant workers are shifting from non-skilled jobs to skilled jobs, as most OFWs leaving the country are professionals and skilled workers.
"In 2006, 60 percent of Filipinos working abroad were professionals and skilled workers. In 2007, the deployment ratio became 73-27 in favor of skilled workers," Bunye said.
"This explains why despite the constant level of deployment, foreign exchange remittances has been increasing," he added.
The Philippines deployed more than 1 million OFWs last year to 160 host destinations last year, most of them in medical and health, information and technology, and services sectors.
About 8 million Filipinos, or 10 percent of the population, are working abroad while their remittances last year were estimated at more than 10 billion U.S. dollars, or 10 percent of GDP.
Source: Xinhua
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