Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran said the government recorded more lay-offs in the private sector in the first nine months of 2019, compared with that for the whole of 2018. He told the Dewan Rakyat that based on employers’ notifications, there were 24,600 lay-offs until end September, 2019, compared with 23,168 in 2018. “From the 2019 figure, 21,625 employees (87.9%) underwent a normal discontinuation, while 2,975 (12.1%) were involved in the VSS (voluntary separation scheme).”
The manufacturing sector was most affected with 7,944 employees, followed by administrative and support services (7,309), trading (2,123), finance and insurance (1,748), accommodation and food and beverage services (1,049), as well as information and communications (679). In 2018, 17,236 employees (74.4%) underwent a normal discontinuation and 5,932 (25.6%) the VSS, he added.
The Minister added that until August this year, there were 50,326 job vacancies in the private sector for the graduate category and 647,979 for non-graduates.
On the gig economy, Kula said the government is conducting a thorough study on related laws and regulations, as well as to introduce more initiatives to encourage greater participation among youths. “We have a problem where there are many job vacancies, but no one taking on those jobs.”
— The Edge Financial Daily
