The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) reported that between January and March 2022, remittances received in the country amounted to US$2,396.2 million, some 200 million less than in 2021, although the figure is higher than those received in the same period. of 2019 and 2020, according to the data provided by the agency.
Last March, remittances totaled US$888.1 million, an amount higher than those received in January and February, but lower by 10.7% compared to the same month in 2021.
“These figures reaffirm the establishment of a new level of monthly remittance flows,” explains the BCRD statement.
The Central Bank explains that the conditions of the labor market in the United States (USA) is one of the main factors that continues to affect the behavior of remittances, since 85.6% of the flows in March came from that country.
It indicates that in March the unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.6%, from 3.8% in February 2022. In particular, it says that the unemployment of Hispanics in the US fell from 4.4% in February to 4.2% in March.
The BCRD also highlights the receipt of remittances from other countries, such as Spain, in the order of 5.9%, a country that is home to more than 186,000 Dominicans from the diaspora in Europe, according to a study by the Institute of Dominicans Abroad (INDEX). , as well as Haiti and Italy with 1.2% and 0.8% of the flows received, respectively. The rest of the remittances are divided between countries such as Switzerland, Canada and Panama and others.
Regarding the distribution of remittances received by provinces, the BCRD indicates that the National District obtained the highest proportion, 33.4%, followed by the provinces of Santiago and Santo Domingo, with 14.3% and 8.7%, respectively. This indicates that More than half (56.4%) of remittances are received in the country’s metropolitan areas.
Analyzing the flows of March 2022 according to the gender of the person who receives, men captured 53.8% and women 46.2% of remittances received through formal channels.