Manila, Nov 8 (IANS): The unemployment rate in the Philippines declined to 5 per cent in September, compared to the previous month's record of 5.3 per cent, according to official data released on Tuesday.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) data showed 2.5 million Filipinos were out of work in September, lower than the 2.68 million recorded in August, reports Xinhua news agency.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the September unemployment rate is a new record-low since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in January 2020.

Employment growth was observed in all sectors, led by the services sector and the industry and agriculture sectors.

"With the vibrant resumption of economic activities, an additional 2.2 million Filipinos joined the workforce, raising the country's labour force participation rate to 65.2 per cent in September 2022 from 63.3 per cent year-on-year," Balisacan added.

The Secretary said the "accelerated employment rate" of 95 per cent in September was the highest recorded rate since January 2020.

Many of the areas in the Philippines are now under Covid-19 alert level one, the lowest and most lenient of the five-tiered coronavirus restrictions.