U.S. Companies Find Cheap Labor -- and Growing Consumer Market -- in Philippines

MANILA (TheStreet) - The fast-growing Philippines is becoming a magnet for U.S. companies, both as source of cheap labor and a thriving consumer market. Economic growth reached 6.2% last year and the Asian Development Bank forecasts 6.4% this year, making it one of the strongest economies in Asia behind China and India. The country's nagging unemployment rate has also fallen below 7%, thanks in part to the expansion of back-office operations by foreign firms that has created about half a milli...