Cayetano Paderanga said the forecast for annual growth in the first quarter of 4.8 to 5.8 percent, calculated using 1985 prices, was “somewhat comforting” since no sector contracted in the period.   

Annual gross domestic product growth of 7.1 percent in the fourth quarter last year was partly driven by strong industrial output and a recovery in the farm sector.

“It just went back to normal level after we saw very high growth last year,” he said after a briefing on the country’s six-year economic road map. GDP grew 7.8 percent in the first quarter last year, partly driven by election-related spending.

Overall growth in previous years have been recalculated and revised using a new base year, 2000, with the expansion in 2010 now at 7.6 percent from an earlier reported 7.3 percent, the fastest in more than three decades.

Economic growth data for the March quarter is set to be announced on May 30, and the government is expected to provide quarterly growth data, using the new base year, which would not be exactly comparable to the forecast.

The farm sector, which makes up about a fifth of the country’s domestic output, posted a 4.1 percent growth in the first quarter from a year ago, the fastest first-quarter growth since 2004, with early rains helping to boost rice, corn and sugarcane harvests, the government said.

Paderanga said the Development Budget Coordination Committee, the government panel that sets the country’s macroeconomic targets, has kept its 7-8 percent growth goal this year.

“We haven’t given up on it (the target) yet. But we will continually review that and see what the numbers look like by the end of the second quarter,” he said.

The target growth, however, would be easier to achieve in 2012 when the economy is expected to benefit from the impact of huge private investments in infrastructure projects and as the government implements more investor-friendly policies and programs.

The administration of President Benigno Aquino has come up with a six-year economic roadmap, the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016, under which it aims to sustain GDP growth of 7-8 percent per year.

“Given our increasing population, we need to achieve higher and faster economic growth that could be felt by every Filipino,” Paderanga said. “Our plan is to pursue inclusive growth that generates mass employment and reduces poverty.” .

Under the plan, the government aims to create an average of 1 million jobs every year, and to keep the unemployment rate at 6.8-7.2 percent. 

Latest data show the jobless rate at 7.4 percent in January, the highest in three quarters.