The Philippine economy grew by 5.9% in the third quarter of the year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Thursday, November 11.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grows by 5.9 percent in the third quarter of 2023 #PHGDP pic.twitter.com/xomqzkAniw

— Philippine Statistics Authority (@PSAgovph) November 9, 2023

According to PSA, the main contributors for this year's third quarter were wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles with 5.0 percent, financial and insurance activities, and construction with 14.0 percent.

This growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shows faster movement compared to the 4.3% data in the second quarter of 2023.

National Statistician Dennis Mapa reported that the services sector has a large contribution to economic growth of 4.4%, followed by agriculture, forestry, and fishing.

Year-on-year, accommodation and food service activities recorded the highest economic growth.

Meanwhile, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Sec. Arsenio Balisacan said that they enjoyed the growth of the country's GDP despite the economic challenges.

Balisacan, however, said that the economy still needs to grow at 7.2% in the fourth quarter of the year to reach the government's growth target for 2023.