UPDATE 1-Dominican Republic sees 2023 GDP growth slowing to 3%

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Oct 4 (Reuters) - The Dominican Republic's economy is expected to grow 3% this year, its presidency said in a statement on Wednesday, marking a slowdown from previous levels and below recent forecasts.

The growth forecast would mark a slowdown from the 4.9% posted last year and the International Monetary Fund's June estimate of 4%. The IMF had forecast that growth would return to around 5% next year.

The Caribbean country's inflation should meanwhile remain "within normal parameters" this year, the presidency said in the statement.

It also reported a second-quarter employment rate of 60.1%, surpassing the pre-pandemic level, and a poverty rate of 23.4%.

The country's CTP poverty measurement committee said it was the first quarter to present levels below 24% using a new methodology launched last year, though the breakdown for women remained above this at 24.6%.

This comes weeks after Santo Domingo announced a

complete shutdown

of its border with neighboring Haiti - which is facing a

humanitarian crisis

driven by gang wars - citing the construction of a canal from a shared river.

This includes a shutdown of cross-border commerce. The government has said it is looking to new markets and has announced projects to buy supplies such as food from producers who usually sell across the border to Haiti. (Reporting by Sarah Morland; Editing by Kylie Madry, Valentine Hilaire and Andrea Ricci)