CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY--Northern Mindanao's formal sector was the top contributor to the increase of the region's economy in 2018, according to data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority in Region 10 (PSA-10) on Friday.
Based on the 2018 Census of Philippine Business and Industry (CPBI), which is conducted every five years, the region registered 16,575 establishments belonging to the economy's formal sector, or a 104.1 percent increase compared to the 2012 data.
PSA-10 estimates the region's average increase of new businesses at 1,409 per year.
PSA-10 Regional Director Dr. Janith Aves said the CPBI data also showed the top three industries with the most number of establishments include wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, accommodation and food service activities, and financial and insurance activities.
"In 2018, the total revenue generated by establishments in the formal sector totaled PHP917.3 billion, an increase of 182.5 percent from PHP324.7 billion in 2012. Services contributed the biggest revenue share of PHP675.5 or 73.6 percent of the total," she said.
As for the top employment generators, PSA-10 data showed that wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles contributed 30.2 percent share to total employment, followed by manufacturing, agriculture, forestry and fishery, and accommodation and food service activities.
PSA-10 data also showed that wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles were the top-earning industries in the region, earning total revenues of PHP526 million. These were followed by manufacturing, and financial, and insurance activities.
On the other hand, PSA-10 has recorded PHP118.4 million in total sales from e-commerce transactions in 2018, a decrease of 23.7 percent from PHP155.2 million in 2012.
Aves said statistics aim to provide the government planners with quality and timely data for development planning purposes.
“We can only achieve that if we work together as one, you as the data provider and us turning such data into valuable information and statistics,” she said.
The PSA-10 chief also stressed that statistics are the evidence on which policies are built.
"They help identify needs, set goals, and monitor progress. Without good statistics, the development progress is blind, policymakers cannot learn from their mistakes, the public cannot hold them accountable," she said.
The 2018 CPBI was conducted with a 60,683 sample size out of the 334,522 establishments engaged in economic activities in the region. (PNA)
