Cash remittances from Filipinos overseas, which help boost domestic consumption, surged to a record high in October amid steady demand for skilled and professional workers, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported recently.

A large chunk of these remittances are from Saudi Arabia where around 1 million OFWs work in professional, technical and related jobs.

Saudi Arabia tops the list of the manpower recruitment countries for the Philippines followed by the UAE and Kuwait.

The Central bank, citing data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, said approved job orders reached 675,966 as of October, two-fifths of which were for services, production, professional, technical and other related work.

These job orders were for Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Qatar.

“Sustained demand for skilled and professional Filipino manpower overseas has supported the steady rise in remittances,” the BSP said.

In the past 10 months a record $18.542 billion in remittances was sent to the Philippines, which is 6 percent up from last year’s $17.499 billion.

In an earlier statement, the Filipinos Overseas Commission said that the inflated remittances at the end of the year are due to migrant workers sending money home to their families and as aid to the typhoon-ravaged areas in the Visayas.

Last month, the Central Bank said cash remittances may surge in November and December following the destruction caused by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

Filipinos abroad are expected to send more to their families as they rebuild their houses and businesses ravaged by the typhoon.

BSP Deputy Governor for the Monetary Stability Sector Diwa Guinigundo said the Central Bank sees a strong inflow of OFW remittances, particularly in November.

“There are reports indicating that families who were displaced by the super typhoon have members working abroad,” Guinigundo said.

Remittances went up 7 percent to a record $2.062 billion in October from $1.928 billion in the same month last year.

The Central Bank said the latest figure was the highest level ever recorded for monthly cash remittances. The previous peak for remittances was seen in December last year at $1.975 billion.

Remittances in September grew 5.3 percent to $1.94 billion, bringing the nine-month tally to $16.5 billion. This is also 5.8 percent higher than last year’s level.

The steady deployment of OFWs has remained one of the drivers of growth in remittance flows, the Central Bank said in a statement. “Remittances were driven mainly by the steady demand for skilled and professional Filipino manpower,” the Central Bank said.

It said the major sources of cash remittances during the 10-month period were the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Canada, and Japan.

Personal remittances, which include cash and non-cash items sent home by Filipinos abroad rose 8.8 percent to $2.282 billion in October, also an all-time high. This brought the January to October level to $20.452 billion, 6.8 percent higher than last year’s level.

The Central Bank expects remittances to grow 5 percent this year from last year’s $21.391 billion.