President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday credited the Philippines’ strong economic performance for driving the unemployment rate down to 4.3% in 2024, the country’s lowest in two decades.
Speaking at the 123rd Labor Day celebration held at a convention center in Pasay City, President Marcos said, “Dulot ng masiglang ekonomiya, noong nakaraang taon, naabot natin ang pinakamababang unemployment rate sa loob ng 20 taon – 4.3 percent. Pinakamababa sa 20 taon.”
He noted further improvements in early 2025, with unemployment dropping to just 3.8% in February.
According to the President, this steady decline in joblessness is largely due to the administration’s aggressive investment drive, which has brought in approximately US$27 billion from 2022 to 2024. Investment Promotion Agencies also recorded over PHP 4.35 trillion in commitments during the same period.
“These investments are expected to generate over 350,000 jobs across the country,” he added.
In his remarks, President Marcos reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to expanding employment opportunities through regular job fairs, organized in coordination with both public and private sector partners. In celebration of Labor Day, job fairs have been held in 69 locations nationwide since April 23 and are set to continue until May 2.
“Mahigpit kong naging tagubilin sa Kalihim ng Paggawa na siguruhin na buwan-buwan ay magdaraos tayo ng job fair upang mas marami pang mabigyan ng trabaho,” he said.
Since Marcos took office in July 2022, the government has conducted over 4,000 job fairs, drawing more than one million job seekers. Nearly 170,000 of them were hired on the spot.
The President also took the opportunity to pay tribute to Filipino workers, calling them the “foundations and pillars” of the communities they serve, both at home and abroad.
