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Chief Statistician of Malaysia, Dato' Sri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin said a promising labour market condition can be expected in the upcoming quarter, reflecting confidence in the country's economy.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) has released its' Labour Market Review, First Quarter 2024 (LMR Q1 2024).
According to the statistics, Malaysia's rate of employment expanded in the first quarter of 2024, to record 16.4mn persons amid continued labour demand.
The statistics were broken down in the following categories:
- Labour supply
- Labour demand
- Labour productivity
Labour supply
Labour force participation rate (LFPR) went up by 0.4% to 70.2% in Q1 2024, in comparison with 68.6% in Q1 2023, recording 16.96mn persons in the labour force, and 7.19mn persons outside the labour force.
The statistics also showed that over 85% of Malaysians did not seek employment due to schooling and housework. The breakdown is as follows:
- 41.6% did not seek for work due to schooling or training programmes
- 44.0% had housework or family responsibilities
- 14.4% of persons were
- going to further their studies,
- disabled,
- not interested in seeking work,
- just finished their studies, or
- retired/in old age
The number of employed persons rose by 2.1% in Q1 2024, albeit at a slower rate, to record 16.4mn persons. At the same time, the employment-to-population ratio rose to 67.9%, compared to 16.06mn persons in Q1 2023.
Time-related underemployment slightly increased by 0.4% to 175,00 in Q1 2024, keeping the rate at 1.1%; while skill-related underemployment for those with tertiary education dropped by 0.3% to 37.4%.
The national unemployment rate in Malaysia decreased by 4.4% during Q1 2024 to 561,100 persons.
Further, the unemployment rate declined by 0.2% year-on-year, but remained the same as against previous quarter, from 4.8% in Q1 2023, to 3.3% in Q1 2024.
Labour demand
Private sector jobs increased by 1.5% year-on-year to 8.94mn in Q1 2024. Filled jobs, making up 97.9%, also rose by 1.5% to 8.75mn. However, job vacancies slightly decreased by 0.4% to 191,900.
Moreover, over half (56.7%) of jobs openings in Q1 2024 came from the Manufacturing sector, with a total of 180,800 vacancies.
In addition, the number of new jobs created also grew by 1.3% to 32,100, with 27.5% of these jobs required skilled individuals, 61.9% semi-skilled, and 10.5% low-skilled in Q1 2024.
Dato' Sri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin, Chief Statistician of Malaysia explained: "The positive turnaround in export performance amid higher external demand, along with sustained growth in domestic demand contributed to improved performance of the economy with a higher growth rate of 4.2% in the first quarter of 2024 as compared to 2.9% in the preceding quarter.
"Additionally, improvements in labour market conditions and stronger investment activities also played significant roles in strengthening labour demand."
Labour productivity
According to the statistics, both measures of labour productivity registered an increase in Q1 2024 compared to Q1 2023.
In Q1 2023, the value added per hour worked year-on-year (y-o-y) was 2.3% and dropped by 0.3% in Q1 2024.
At the same time, the value added per employment y-o-y remained at 1.9% in Q1 2023 & Q1 2024.
In Q1 2024, Malaysia's economy grew by 4.2%, boosting labour productivity by 2.0% to RM24,230 per person. Total hours worked increased by 2.2% to 9.45bn, raising productivity per hour by 1.9% to RM42.0.
Dato' Sri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin noted: "Despite ongoing external headwinds, Malaysia’s economic outlook will continue to be underpinned by sustained expansion of domestic demand and improvement in external demand, including increased tourism activities, continued implementation of infrastructure projects, further realisation of committed foreign direct investments, and the government’s initiatives.
"A favourable country’s economic prospects will lead to more vibrant business and economic activity, thus creating more high-skilled jobs and greater income opportunities.
"Therefore, a promising labour market condition is foreseen in the upcoming quarter, reflecting confidence in the economy.” he added.
READ MORE: How labour productivity in Malaysia fared by sector in Q1 2024
Lead image / DOSM
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