Manila - Remittances from overseas Filipinos reached nearly 1.5 billion dollars in June, the highest monthly inflow in 19 years, the central bank said Friday.

The central bank said the 1.45 billion dollars sent home by overseas Filipinos in June was 30 per cent higher than remittances in the same month last year.

It is the highest monthly inflow recorded since 1989 when the central bank started to classify foreign exchange inflows from overseas Filipinos as a separate category.

The June inflow brought the total of remittances in the first six months of the year to 8.24 billion dollars, up 17.2 per cent from the same period in 2007.

"The sustained rise in the number of deployed Filipino workers contributed to the robust remittance inflows," said central bank governor Amando Tetangco.

According to preliminary government data, 640,401 Filipinos found jobs abroad in the first half of the year, up 33.5 per cent from a year ago.

There are more than 8 million Filipinos working and living abroad. Last year, they sent home a total of 14.44 billion dollars in remittances. (dpa)