Service sector pushes W. Visayas to fastest economic growth in PHL 2022

By Joseph B.A. Marzan

The growth in the services sector in the Western Visayas region pushed the region to the fastest economic growth rate in the country in 2022, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority-Region 6 (PSA-6) on Thursday.

The regional economy was valued at ₱955 billion in 2022, representing a 9.3 percent increase from ₱874.1 billion in 2021.

This percentage represents two regional economic indicators, the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) and the Gross Regional Domestic Expenditure (GRDE).

In terms of the GRDP, services accounted for ₱582.6 billion (7.7 percent growth), ₱205.1 billion from the industry sector (2.0 percent growth), and ₱167.3 billion from the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries sector (0.4 percent decline).

The PSA defines the GRDP as the measure of the economic performance of a region, covering the value of goods and services produced in that region.

It is usually reported in terms of growth rate and expressed in real terms or at constant prices, with the basis for the current GRDP reports coming from constant prices set in 2018.

The growth rate is broken by sub-sectors:

–          Transportation and storage (2.2 percent);

–          Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles (2.2 percent);

–          Construction (1.1 percent);

–          Other services (0.7 percent);

–          Accommodation and food services (0.6 percent);

–          Manufacturing (0.5 percent);

–          Financial and insurance activities (0.5 percent);

–          Education (0.4 percent);

–          Mining and quarrying (0.4 percent);

–          Information and communication (0.3 percent);

–          Professional and business services (0.2 percent);

–          Real estate and ownership of dwellings (0.2 percent);

–          Public administration and defense; compulsory social activities (0.2 percent);

–          Human health and social work activities (0.1 percent);

–          Electricity, steam, water, and waste management (0.004 percent); and

–          Agriculture, forestry, and fishing (-0.4 percent).

But this breakdown has some variations from the actual growth rate of the subsectors in 2022:

–          Accommodation and food service activities (47.3 percent);

–          Transportation and storage (41.5 percent);

–          Other services (37.5 percent);

–          Construction (20.2 percent);

–          Mining and quarrying (11.3 percent);

–          Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (11.1 percent);

–          Information and communication (8.6 percent);

–          Professional and business services (7.4 percent);

–          Education (7.1 percent);

–          Financial and insurance activities (6.5 percent);

–          Real estate and ownership of dwellings (4.6 percent);

–          Manufacturing (4.4 percent);

–          Human health and social work activities (4.2 percent);

–          Public administration and defense; compulsory social activities (3.8 percent);

–          Electricity, steam, water, and waste management (0.3 percent); and

–          Agriculture, forestry, and fishing (-2.0 percent).

The Gross Regional Domestic Expenditures (GRDE), the expenditure of residents of the region in the domestic territory plus their expenditures in other regions including the rest of the world, also increased last year.

But unlike the GRDP, growth of the GRDE in Western Visayas is indicated by expenditure items:

–          Household Final Consumption Expenditure (HFCE), with 95.1 percent share;

–          Government Final Consumption Expenditure (GFCE), with 14 percent share;

–          Gross Capital Formation (GCF), with 16.7 percent share;

–          Net Exports to the Rest of the World, with 5.8 percent share;

–          Imports to the Rest of the World, with -26.4 percent share; and

–          Net Exports to the Rest of the Philippines, with -5.3 percent share.

As to their contributions, the HFCE topped the list (11.3 percent), followed by Net Exports to the Rest of the Philippines (3.9 percent), GCF (2.3 percent), GFCE (0.3 percent), and Net Exports to the Rest of the World (-8.5 percent).

For actual GRDE growth rates, imports and exports remain superior:

–          Imports of goods from the rest of the world (51.5 percent);

–          Imports of services from the rest of the world (43.8 percent);

–          Exports of services to the rest of the world (43.6 percent);

–          Construction (18.6 percent);

–          HFCE (12.2 percent);

–          Intellectual property products (10.2 percent);

–          Durable equipment (5.0 percent);

–          GFCE (1.8 percent);

–          Valuables (-5.4 percent);

–          Exports of goods to the rest of the world (-10.1 percent); and

–          Breeding stocks and orchard development (-13.2 percent).

PSA-6 officer-in-charge Nelida Amolar attributed the economic growth mainly to an increase in the service sector, citing the reopening to full capacity of establishments and transportation as evidenced by the growth of the accommodation and food services sector.

As to the extent of this growth based on the specific areas of the region, it will be known when the Provincial Product Accounts are released by end-2023.