Unemployment Level at its Lowest Since the Pandemic Started
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According to Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, the number of unemployed people in Malaysia fell to 680,400 in January, lowering the unemployment rate to 4.2%.
He stated the figure was down 1.1% from the previous month's figure of 687,600.
An increase in employment
The labour force condition continued to improve in January 2022, led by ongoing increases in employment, while the number of unemployed persons decreased. He cited the Malaysian Labor Force Statistics for January 2022, released on Wednesday.
According to Mohd Uzir, the favourable month-on-month growth of employed persons continued in January 2022, increasing by 0.2% to 15.69 million people, up from 15.65 million in December 2021.
He said that the employment-to-population ratio, which measures an economy's potential to produce jobs, increased by 0.1 percentage point to 66.2% in January 2022, up from 66.1% in the previous month.
In January 2022, the number of people in the labour force increased by 30.2 thousand people, or 0.2%, to record 16.37 million people, bringing the labour force participation rate (LFPR) to 69.15%, up from 69% in December 2021.
He said that the situation represents the optimistic economic activities observed in January 2022 since all States were in Phase 4 of the National Recovery Plan, allowing enterprises to operate at full capacity with longer business hours.
Most sectors are hiring more people
According to Mohd Uzir, 83.7% of the 680,400 unemployed people in January were available for employment and actively looking for work, or the actively unemployed.
The number of people employed in services has consistently increased month over month, particularly in:
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Food and beverage services,
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Wholesale and retail trade, and
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Information and communication activities.
A similar trend was noted in the manufacturing and construction sectors, with employment continuing to expand, whereas jobs in agriculture, mining, and quarrying had been declining for the previous 18 months.
Mohd Uzir expected a brighter economic outlook in the months ahead, as seen by the Leading Index, which has remained consistent over 100 points and is expected to rise in December 2021. This upbeat view will result in increased corporate activity, raising labour demand in the economy.
He stated that by creating more job opportunities, more labour participation would be encouraged, resulting in a more active labour market in the coming months.
Source: The Edge Markets