The economy slumped in the first quarter of 2020 from a 5.6-percent growth a year ago, the first contraction since the fourth quarter of 1998, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Thursday.
The January-to-March data was also a lot slower than the 6.4 percent posted in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Main contributors to the economic contraction were manufacturing, transportation and storage, and accommodation and food service activities.
Among the major economic sectors, agriculture, forestry and fishing, and industry contracted 0.4 percent and 3.0 percent, respectively.
The services sector posted a growth of 1.4 percent during the period.
On the expenditure side, items that declined were gross capital formation (GCF), 18.3 percent; exports, 3.0 percent; and imports, 9.0 percent.
Meanwhile, household final consumption expenditure and government final consumption expenditure posted positive growths of 0.2 percent and 7.1 percent, respectively.
In addition, net primary income from the rest of the world dropped by 4.4. percent resulting to the 0.6 percent contraction in the Gross National Income.