PUTRAJAYA, May 18 — Malaysia’s labour productivity as expressed by value added per hour worked posted a 2.1 per cent growth in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, with total hours worked increasing 3.5 per cent to 9.2 billion hours, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
In a statement today on Labour Productivity Statistics in the First Quarter of 2023, Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in terms of value, labour productivity per hour worked in Q1 2023 was RM41.20 compared to RM43.20 per hour in Q4 2022.
Labour productivity measured as value added per employment increased 2.4 per cent to record RM23,712 compared to 3.7 per cent to record RM24,966 per person in Q4 2022.
In terms of sectoral performance for labour productivity measured as value added per hour worked, four sectors posted increases, preceded by the construction sector at 6.5 per cent compared to 8.0 per cent in Q4 2022.
It was followed by the services sector at 2.8 per cent (Q4 2022: 2.5 per cent), mining & quarrying at 1.6 per cent (Q4 2022: 4.2 per cent), and manufacturing at 0.2 per cent (Q4 2022: 0.3 per cent), while agriculture remained sluggish (-0.9 per cent).
He said Malaysia’s economy is recovering despite the anticipated low steam of economic growth this year.
“Labour productivity is expected to post a better outlook in the coming quarters as supported by the positive momentum of labour market development and thriving business activities.
“Further to this, the country’s determination in accelerating technology adoption and innovation, and to push towards innovation-centric economic growth will ascertain the enhancement of innovation-driven businesses and targeted high-performance labour productivity,” Mohd Uzir said.
— Bernama
