Economic growth slightly picked up in the third quarter as government spent more and household consumption increased, the country’s economic manager said, Yahoo reported. In a press briefing Thursday, Economic Planning Secretary and National Economic and Development Authority Director General Arsenio Balisacan said gross domestic product growth hit the 6% mark in the third quarter, an improvement from 5.8% the previous quarter and the three-year low 5% in the first three months. In the same quarter last year, GDP expanded at a slower pace of 5.5%. He said for the first nine months of 2015, growth stood at 5.6%, making a 6% full-year target “very much likely given even better prospects for the last quarter.” The country’s GDP growth was the third fastest after China’s 6.9% and Vietnam’s 6.8%. Balisacan said strong domestic demand fueled output growth in the third quarter, led by significant improvements in government spending and household consumption. In July to September, public sector performance improved, with government expenditure increasing from 3.9% to 17.4%.
