MANILA, Philippines — The country’s manufacturing sector remains the second best performer among Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, with the Philippine Stock Exchange turning in a performance that reflects growing market and investor confidence, presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said.
Abella noted that the country’s manufacturing sector scored 53.3 in the recent Nikkei ASEAN Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, indicating a solid increase in output for April and next only to Vietnam.
He also said that the January 2017 Labor Force Survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority attributed the largest percentage of employment to the manufacturing sector.
“Hence, this is consistent with the Duterte administration’s goal of generating 1.2 million jobs annually as it continues to accelerate growth in the manufacturing sector,” Abella told a press briefing Tuesday.
He also pointed to the PSE, which surged to 7,962.33 last Monday.
“The Philippine economy is said to have likely grown 7 percent in the first quarter of 2017 and we are optimistic that we will reach our target of sustained and inclusive economic growth for the rest of the year, as we begin to roll out our Build-Build-Build infrastructure campaign,” Abella said.
The Duterte administration, he said, has begun to lay down the foundations of prosperity for all Filipinos.