Data released by the Statistics Department indicates that almost 9,000 Malaysians managed to secure jobs in August. A department statement said the number of Malaysians unemployed was reduced by 1.4% to about 612,000 people in August this year, compared to 620,700 in July. Malaysia’s overall unemployment rate, however, remained at 3.7%. Of the 612,000, a total of 507,300 are active unemployed while 104,700 are inactive unemployed.
The department said the labour force continues to grow with a 0.2% increase to 16.63 million persons, as compared to 16.60 million persons in July last year. The labour market growth was attributted to the strengthening of domestic demand and the reopening of the country’s borders.
The number of employed persons in the services sector remained on an increasing pattern, particularly in food & beverages services, wholesale & retail trade and administrative & support service activities. A similar trend was observed in the manufacturing and construction sectors, while the number of employed persons in the agriculture and mining and quarrying sectors continued to decrease.
