THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said that the services sector serves as the key to reaching the government’s growth target of 6 to 7 percent for 2023.

NEDA also said that the business process outsourcing and information technology industry are seen as the drivers of growth.

NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said that this is because the sectors  have proven resilient to shocks

“Domestic services account for almost 3/4 of our growth. That is not vulnerable to global shocks. Even [when] there is a global slowdown, that sector can be quite robust,” Balisacan said.

Balisacan gave note of the tourism sector recovering from the post-pandemic, which he expressed confidence that it will fuel growth in the economy.

He added that the country is targeting at least a 6 percent growth for 2023.

Presently, the GDP needs to grow at least 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter.

The GDP recorded a faster clip of 5.9 percent in the third quarter of 2023.

This is due to the government spending that picked up pace. 

This was faster than the 4.3 percent clip in the second quarter, but still below the 6.4 percent growth in the first quarter. 

The Philippine economy is expected to grow further in 2024 if the government can attract “massive” investments to boost productivity, Balisacan said.

“To produce the kind of 8 to 5 work and not just 1 to 2 hours a day, permanent jobs, those can happen only if companies, businesses are investing their building plants, factories, equipment, machinery that our labor force can work at," Balisacan said.