Malaysia's Unemployment Rate in 2020 Is the Highest Since 1993
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In 2020, the unemployment rate in Malaysia reached 4.5%. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM), the number is the highest since 1993 when the unemployment rate was reported at 4.1%.
The department's Chief Statistician Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin stated that unemployment increased to 772,900 persons at a rate of 4.8% in December 2020. Meanwhile, the number of employed persons grown 0.1% month-on-month, equivalent to 19,300 persons, to 15.22 million persons after recording a marginal reduction in the past month.
In a statement on Statistics of Labour Force for December and fourth quarter (Q4) of 2020, he said that the employment-to-population ratio, which shows an economy's ability to generate employment remained the same at 65.1%.
Mohd Uzir said employed persons by the status of employment in the employee's category, which comprised 77.6% of the overall employment, increased by 0.2% (23,500 persons) to 11.81 million persons against the previous month.
He also said that own-account workers, otherwise known as self-employed persons, which consisted of 15.8% of the overall employment, continued to drop for the third month by 0.6% to 2.4 million persons in December 2020. According to him, this group consisted mostly of daily wage earners working at farmers' markets, night markets, stalls, freelancers and smallholders.
The impact of Movement Control Order (MCO)
The number of employed persons who were temporarily not working also increased from 142,000 persons in November 2020 to 146,200 in December 2020. The increase is caused by the implementation of the MCO phases, short school break, and festive holiday.
The Chief Statistician said that this group of persons who were most likely unable to work, was not classified as unemployed as they had jobs to return to. The health crisis and economic outcomes in December 2020 influenced the labour market condition, causing a slower recovery momentum.
Mohd Uzir went on to say that the labour market stayed competitive with the number of labour force grown by 27,800 persons to 15.99 million persons in December 2020, compared to 15.96 million persons in November 2020.
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According to DoSM, the MCO had an effect on the rate of employed persons who were temporarily not working.
The number of persons outside the labour force registered a decrease of 2,600 persons to 7.37 million persons against November 2020, with the largest composition was due to schooling or training.
As for the labour supply situation in Q4 2020, Mohd Uzir said the market condition increased gradually as the labour force, and employment situation continued to grow compared to the previous quarter, reporting 15.92 million persons and 15.16 million persons.
533,700 persons worked less than 30 hours per week on Q4 2020, compared to 403,800 persons in Q3 2020. The situation is believed to be caused by working conditions or insufficient work.
Source: Borneo Bulletin
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