PUTRAJAYA, April 8 (Bernama) — The number of unemployed persons in Malaysia has declined further by 1.3 per cent to 671,000 in February from 680,400 in January this year, according to the Key Statistics of Labour Force in Malaysia for February 2022.
Accordingly, February’s unemployment rate edged down to 4.1 per cent from 4.2 per cent in January.
The statistics also showed the continuous improvement in employed persons with a month-on-month increase of 0.3 per cent to post 15.73 million persons in February compared to 15.69 million persons in January, while the number of labour force continued to rise by 0.2 per cent to 16.40 million persons in February from 16.37 million persons previously.
Commenting on the statistics, Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin in a statement today said the strengthened labour force situation in February 2022 was prompted by the continuous operation of all economic and social activities during the month.
“As more business activities resumed, it will demand more manpower for operational purposes, thus allowing more creation of job opportunities in the market to sustain the businesses. This situation is seen to have encouraged more labour to enter the labour market.
“This is reflected by the ever-increasing growth rate of the employed persons as well as the reduction in the number of unemployment which subsequently resulted in the lower unemployment rate during the month,” he said.
On the unemployment situation in February, Mohd Uzir said the actively unemployed or those who were available for work and were actively seeking jobs comprised 83.7 per cent of the total unemployed persons.
Out of the total actively unemployed, the unemployed persons for less than three months encompassed 56.7 per cent, while those who were in long-term unemployment of more than a year made up a share of 7.3 per cent.
The number of unemployed youths aged 15 to 24 lessened by 2.1 per cent to 356,000 in February from 364,500 in January.
By looking at the economic sector, Mohd Uzir said the increase in the number of employed persons in services sector persisted largely in food and beverages services; wholesale and retail trade; and transportation and storage activities.
“This situation gives a positive signal to the labour market, thus encouraging more inclusion in the labour market and enabling the labour market to remain strong for the months to come,” he added.
Sources: BERNAMA