Manila  - Remittances of millions of overseas Filipinos rose 4.2 per cent in the first nine months of 2009 amid strong global demand for Filipino workers, the central bank said Monday.

Remittances from January to September reached 12.8 billion dollars, compared to 12.3 billion dollars in the same period last year, the bank said.

In September alone, remittances totalled 1.4 billion dollars, up 8.6 per cent year-on-year.

"Steady remittance flows were shored up by the continued strong global demand for professional and skilled Filipino workers," the central bank said in a statement.

"The deployment of Filipino workers abroad is anticipated to increase given the continuing hiring arrangements between the Philippines with existing and non-traditional labour markets," it added.

There are more than 8 million Filipinos working abroad. Their remittances, which totalled 16.4 billion dollars last year, account for about 10 per cent of the country's gross domestic product.

The major sources of remittances for the nine-month period were the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Japan, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Italy and Germany.  (dpa)