Republican presidential challenger Mitt Romney has finally addressed his secretly taped disparaging remarks about the 47% of Americans who do not pay federal income taxes, calling his words "just completely wrong".

Mr Romney's campaign had been hit hard by the remarks that emerged last month, in which he said he could not convince nearly half of the country to "take personal responsibility" for their lives. The multimillionaire slipped behind President Barack Obama in some key battleground states as people worried he was out of touch with average Americans.

But Mr Romney gave an assertive performance in his first TV debate on Wednesday night. Mr Obama did not mention Mr Romney's "47%" comment during the debate, but Mr Romney later brought it up in a TV interview. He said the remarks, which he had dismissed as "not elegantly stated", were wrong.

"Clearly in a campaign, with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question-and-answer sessions, now and then you're going to say something that doesn't come out right," Mr Romney said. "In this case, I said something that's just completely wrong."

Meanwhile, a drop in the US unemployment rate to its lowest level since Mr Obama came into office is expected to give the President's campaign a boost.