Manila - Remittances from overseas Filipinos rose 14.74 per cent in the first five months of the year as more workers found employment abroad, the government said Tuesday. 

The Central Bank said remittances reached 6.79 billion dollars from January to May, higher than the 5.91 billion dollars seen in the same period last year. 

For the month of May alone, remittances grew 15.58 per cent to 1.42 billion dollars. 

"Behind the continued expansion in remittances was the steady growth in the number of deployed Filipino workers," the bank said in a statement. "This reflected the distinct preference for the skills, quality and competence of Filipino workers." 

Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed 533,954 Filipinos were newly deployed for jobs overseas from January to May, up from 382,777 in the same period in 2007. 

Last year, a total of 14.44 billion dollars were remitted by more than 8 million overseas Filipinos, providing a big boost to the Philippine economy. (dpa)