The regional economy continued to grow but at a slower rate in 2023, based on available data on agricultural and mineral production, and tourist arrivals. In the agriculture sector, annual production of rice, corn, coconut, Abaca, and fisheries decreased compared to 2022. Mining, a sub-group of the industry sector and a major contributor to the Gross Regional Domestic Product, showed a marginal increase of 1.1 percent in total mineral production compared to 2022. Tourism continued to drive the growth in the services sector, as partial data showed an increase in foreign tourist arrival.
Average employment rate slightly increased to 94.8 percent from 94.1 in 2022, while unemployment rate declined to 5.2 percent from 5.9 percent in 2022, thus meeting the target range of 5.0-6.5 percent articulated in the Bicol Regional Development Plan (RDP) 2023-2028. However, the average inflation rate slightly increased to 5.9 percent from 5.3 percent, exceeding the Bicol RDP target of 2-4 percent, despite maintaining a declining trend from February to the end of 2023.