The Malaysian labour market strengthened in July with a 3.7% unemployment rate being recorded, which is close to that recorded during the pre-pandemic level based on the publication of Labour Force Statistics, Malaysia, July 2022.
The falling unemployment rate is an achievement compared to the 4.5% recorded in 2021 and 4.2% rate in January of 2022.
Correspondingly, the number of unemployed people continues to decrease to 620.7 thousand in July compared to 630.6 thousand people in June 2022.
The number of Malaysians who are working in July 2022 continues to record a positive growth of 0.3% or 15.98 million people compared to 15.94 million people in June 2022.
Based on economic sector, employment has been increasing in the service sector, especially in food and beverage services; in trade wholesale and retail; and administrative and support services.
Employment has also been increasing in the manufacturing and construction sectors but declining in the sectors of agriculture, mining and quarrying.
The position of the labour force in July 2022 also improved due to the continuous increase in the number of workers by 0.2% (month-on-month) recording 16.60 million people compared to 16.57 million people in June 2022. This resulted in the labour force participation rate increasing for the month to 69.6%.
Minister In The Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed, in a statement released today, said: “The achievement of a stronger labour market is supported by an improved economic position for the second quarter of 2022 with the economic growth rate achieving 8.9%.
“For the first half of 2022, the national economy grew by 6.9 percent. Upon the government’s decision to open its doors on April 1, there was increased economic and social activity. This has had a positive impact on the country’s labour market which has created more jobs and business opportunities,” he added.
The momentum of the labour market recovery is also in line with the implementation of government initiatives such as the JaminKerja – Employment Incentive program (JKIP) and the creation of the National Jobs Portal, MyFutureJobs.
Mustapa said the government will continue to increase opportunities, jobs and improve the well-being of Malaysian Families (Keluarga Malaysia). And, the labour market is expected to strengthen in the third quarter of 2022 with higher business performance expectations.
“The increasing rate of 4.7% for the third quarter of 2022 from 3.5% in the second quarter of the year is a sign of confidence which depicts that the economic situation is expected to improve in the third quarter of this year, he added.
