The Makati City skyline on Nov. 9, 2022. Gigie Cruz, ABS-CBN News MANILA -- The Philippine economy may grow 6 percent in 2024, a group of economists said Tuesday.

Faster growth in 2024 will be driven by strong employment, much softer inflation and robust infrastructure spending, according to the latest "The Market Call" newsletter by First Metro Investments Corporation (FMIC) and University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) Capital Markets Research.

In the newsletter, economists said record unemployment lows and slowing inflation reported in the last two months of 2023 "blew away dark clouds that threatened the economy and ushered in a brighter horizon for 2024."

The Philippines' jobless rate fell to 3.6 percent in November. Inflation also eased to 3.9 percent in December 2023, the lowest inflation print seen in the year.

Unemployment rate falls to 3.6 percent in November
Inflation eases to 3.9 percent in December

"Although we expect a seasonal slowdown in December and January, the upward trend in both the labor participation rate and employment exhibited in (the second half of 2023) should continue in 2024," the newsletter said about jobs.

The economists said inflation could slow to 3.8 percent in 2024.

"We expect inflation to go within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) target in Q1, when it averages some 3.2 percent. This could go even lower if other food prices remain soft," the newsletter said.

"Food prices, except for rice, have stabilized or declined while crude oil prices have quickly headed south after every major event that got traders nervous," economists added.

The economists said slowing inflation may also boost consumer spending this year.

Experts also said they expect national government spending to speed up in December, as national government departments and agencies use up much of their unspent budgets.

They noted that national government expenditures decreased by -4.7 percent year-on-year in November.

Meanwhile, the peso will likely trade sideways in the first quarter of 2024, but economists said it would resume its depreciation trend thereafter as the trade deficits remained above $4 billion per month.

The government is set to announce fourth quarter economic numbers on Wednesday, January 31.

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