President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is elated by the declining number of unemployed Filipinos, saying it was a "good sign" that the economy has started to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Marcos said this after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the unemployment rate stood at five percent in September 2022, the lowest since the onset of the global health crisis.

Based on the PSA report, the number of jobless Filipinos in the country dropped to 2.5 million from the 2.68 million recorded in August.

The figure recorded in September was also lower by 1.78 million from the 4.28 million logged in the same period last year. This was based on a PSA survey of 10,959 families nationwide.

According to PSA, the average unemployment rate in 2022 is already close to the pre-pandemic level of 5.1 percent in 2019.

In a meeting with government officials in Malacañang, the President welcomed the positive momentum in the country's unemployment rate.

"This is a good sign. The economy is trying very hard to grow," Marcos said.

"We just have to be able to tolerate the shocks that are coming from abroad. But otherwise, the economy is moving in the right direction," he added.

Based on the PSA report, the sectors that posted the largest employment increase include manufacturing, education, public administration and defense, transportation, and real estate.

Meanwhile, the President vowed to improve the quality of jobs to address underemployment while bolstering job opportunities in the country.

"Ever since we started with the economic team, even before I took office, we really concentrated on the creation of jobs," he said.

"That's why it is having the effect now of bringing down our unemployment rate," he added.

While acknowledging that inflation remains a "worry," President Marcos expressed optimism that the country could sustain the positive momentum with the unemployment rate, noting that accelerating job generation has been among his administration's top priorities.