President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. said Thursday he is confident the latest labor data will shield it from a potential global recession.

"That is why I am confident Philippines will not go in recession because (of) the unemployment rate and if you recall during the start of the administration, we talked about prioritizing employment. So now you are seeing what is happening. Let us just keep at it," Marcos said in a video message in Filipino.

Marcos cited preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), which showed unemployment falling back to pre-pandemic levels at 4.5 percent last October from 5.2 percent last July despite high inflation rate.

Inflation soared to eight percent, the highest since November 2008, last month.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) earlier said the expected 2023 global recession next year will affect the country.

However, it added that strong domestic consumption could cushion the economy of the effects of the global slowdown.

"You can expect we will do everything we can to bring down inflation rate and to slowdown the the rise in prices (of basic goods and services)," Marcos said in Filipino. DMS