PUTRAJAYA, April 8 — Malaysia’s unemployment rate remained at 3.3 per cent in February, registering a lower number of unemployed at 567,000 persons, according to the Labour Force statistics from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the country’s labour force position remained stable in February, per the development of current economic activities, recording a continuing positive trend in the number of employed persons while the number of unemployed persons dropped slightly.
“Therefore, the number of workers continued to record a month-on-month increase, with an addition of 0.1 per cent to 17.07 million people compared to 17.05 million people in January.
“The labour force participation rate in February stood at 70.2 per cent as recorded in the preceding month,” he said in a statement today.
The number of employed persons continued to increase, with a month-on-month rise of 0.2 per cent to 16.51 million persons compared to 16.48 million people in January 2024.
However, the number of unemployed persons during the month continued to register a downward trend, with a marginal decrease of 0.1 per cent to 567,000, compared to 567,300 in January 2024. This registered a 3.3 per cent unemployment rate as in the prior month.
Elaborating, Uzir said out of the total employed persons in February, 75.2 per cent were in the employees’ category, which recorded a slight increase of 0.1 per cent, to 12.41 million persons compared to 12.39 million persons in the previous month.
Similarly, the upward trend was also seen in the own-account workers category, which increased by 0.3 per cent to 3.02 million persons compared to 3.01 million persons in January.
In terms of the economic sector, the services sector continued to register an increase in the number of employed persons, particularly in the wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage services, as well as transportation and storage activities.
“The manufacturing, construction, mining and quarrying, and agriculture sectors also saw a rise in the number of employed persons in February,” he said.
In line with Malaysia’s economic situation, most of the economic sectors are anticipated to expand in 2024, with the services and manufacturing sectors set to be the key drivers of overall growth.
“In addition, rising demand for professionals in business and administration services was observed as more firms launched e-commerce platforms, used social media for marketing, explored data analytics for efficiency, and adopted automation and digital systems,” Uzir said.
Robust domestic demand, fueled by resilient household spending during the upcoming festive season, is also expected to support hiring activities.
Therefore, the labour market position is expected to continue to grow in the following months, supported by continued demand for employment towards a better economy.
— Bernama
