Services remained the largest contributor accounting for 41.6 percent of the region’s GRDP. Despite the slowing down of Trade and Transportation, Communication and Storage subsectors, the sector managed to post a 3.8 percent growth in 2002.

Trade, accounting for the largest share in Services, slowed down to 4.6 percent, while TCS managed to register a slower growth of 4.7 percent. All the other subsectors performed better than in 2001.

Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry (AFF) managed to outpace its 3.1 percent growth in 2001 as it grew by 3.3 percent in 2002. The lackluster performance of palay and livestock brought about by the dry spell that hit the region was offset by the positive growths in other crops and fishery. The better performance of the fishery subsector was brought about by the operation of more fishing vessels and fish traps.

Industry recovered from its dismal performance the previous year posting a remarkable 18.6 percent expansion in 2002 from a 3.9 percent decline largely due to the robust performance in construction, which grew by 28.4 percent.

The region’s economy registered the second fastest growth among the regions in 2002 and was ranked sixth in terms of contribution to the country’s growth. In terms of its share to the total GDP, it remained number eight with a 3.1 percent share. As usual, the National Capital Region was steadfast as the country’s biggest contributor with a 30.6 percent share to the GDP followed by Southern Tagalog (15.6 percent) and Central Luzon (9.0 percent).