Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic’s economy grew 7.4%, in the first half measured in terms of gross domestic product (GDP), the Central Bank affirmed Wednesday.

It said construction grew 17.7%, and has paced all sectors during 12 consecutive quarters, followed by; Mining (25.1%), Financial intermediation (11.0%), Health (9.5%), Agriculture (8.0%), other service activities (7.2%), education (7.0%), retail (6.2%), Local Manufacturing ( 6.0%), Transport (5.1%) and Hotels, Bars and Restaurants (4.9%).

Among the sectors which posted a decline figure free zone manufacturing, at -0.6%, a sharp downturn compared with its 5.8% growth in the same period in 2015.

In an emailed statement, the Central Bank the labor market’s behavior is the result of economy’s dynamism. "The results of the National Workforce Survey (ENFT) for April 2016 show that 173,402 jobs were created in the 12 months from April 2015 to April 2016, for an average monthly of approximately 14,450 new employees in that period."

It said the 436,912 jobs created from October 2012 to April 2016 lowered the open unemployment rate from 6.0% in April 2015 to 5.7% in April 2016. “Similarly, the broad unemployment stood at 13.3% in April 2016, proving to be the lowest in the last two decades.”

“The financial system continues to strengthen, showing adequate indicators of capital sufficiency, asset quality, profitability and liquidity," with which it could face potential internal or external shocks. “The total assets of the financial sector posted a growth of 11.0%.”

“Moreover, commercial banks June 2016 posted a solvency level of 15.6% and 17.1% for all financial intermediaries, well above the 10% set by the Monetary and Financial Law. The return on average equity of the total financial system was 15.6%, on assets of 1.8% and NPL of 1.7%, while in the case of commercial banks the return on equity was 18.9%, 1.9% on assets and 1.7% delinquency during that period.”