On the second quarter of 2021, Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) posted an 11.8% growth, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The construction industry is one of the main contributors to the growth together with manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade as well as repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles.
Among the major economic sectors, industry recorded the fastest growth at 20.8% . This was followed by services with a growth of 9.6 percent. Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing (AHFF) registered a negative 0.1% growth.
Construction posted the highest growth rate for the quarter at 25.7% followed by manufacturing at 22.3%. Other industry sectors which recorded positive growth were electricity, stream, water and waste management at 9.8% and mining, quarrying with 0.8%.
The construction industry likewise substantially contributed 69.6 percent to overall capital investments or gross capital formation (GCF) in the country. Construction share to GDP by expenditure is equivalent to 16.6%. Amidst the pandemic, the construction industry placed second with 1.7% points as one of the top contributors to GDP growth for Q2 2021, together with manufacturing which had 3.9 percentage points and wholesale and retail trade with 1.0 percentage points.
The share of construction to total employment of 45.075 million as of June 2021, was equivalent to 9.6%. The construction industry continues to provide job opportunities, employing on the average a total of 4.337 million workers.