Diokno issued the statement after latest data showed that the October 2022 Labor Force Survey recorded the lowest unemployment rate since 2005 at 4.5 percent. This is remarkably lower than the 7.4 percent outturn a year ago and 5.3 percent in January 2020 or pre-pandemic.
“We expect the strong labor market to further boost domestic demand in the last quarter of the year and help us attain our economic growth targets,” Diokno said.“The economic team has intensified its efforts to maintain a sound macroeconomic environment amid high inflation and other external risks,” he said.
The quality of employment has continued to improve year-on-year. The underemployment rate decreased to 14.2 percent in October 2022, relative to 16.1 percent in the same period a year ago, down to 6.67 million from 7.04 million underemployed persons in October 2021.