The Philippines’ manufacturing sector posted its 10-month high growth in May 2025 after rising by 4.9 percent year-on-year.

Citing preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSE), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) reported Monday that the annual volume of production index (VoPI) growth last May is a continuation of the 4.3 percent expansion in the previous month.

This was traced primarily to the 15.7 percent jump of output of food products subsection, faster than the previous month’s 11.2 percent growth.

Another contributor is the transport equipment, which accelerated by 13.5 percent from 7.4 percent last April.

This output is seen to rise further in June after S&P Global earlier reported the 50.7 percent rise to the country’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) in June 2025, from 50.1 in the previous month. An index of above 50 indicates an expansion while a figure below 50 shows otherwise.

The Board of Investments also reported that it approved PHP15.02 billion worth of manufacturing projects in the first half of this year, which, in turn, is forecast to generate more than 5,000 new jobs.

“This positive outlook on the manufacturing sector is a catalyst for the country’s economic growth and more job opportunities for Filipinos. When factories product more, they need to hire more workers,” Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said. (PNA)