The improvement in the number of employed persons continued in October 2022, with a month-on-month rise of 0.2 per cent (+29.3 thousand persons) to 16.08 million persons (September 2022: 16.05 million persons).
During the month, the employment-to-population ratio, which indicates the ability of an economy to create employment, was unchanged at 67.2 per cent as against the preceding month.
The Department Of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) in its report titled: Key Statistics of Labour Force in Malaysia, October 2022 released today cited that by economic sector, the number of employed persons in the services sector remained on an upward trend, particularly in the food & beverages services, Wholesale & retail trade and Finance & insurance/ takaful activities.
Similarly, the number of employed persons in the Manufacturing, Construction and Agriculture sectors also recorded increases. In contrast, employment in the Mining & quarrying sector continued to fall.
In October 2022, the employees’ category which was the largest composition of the total employed persons with a share of 75.9 per cent, posted an increase of 0.1 per cent or equivalent to 17.7 thousand persons to record 12.20 million persons (September 2022: 12.18 million persons).
A similar trend was observed in own-account workers, with a 0.4 per cent (+10.4 thousand persons) increased to 2.83 million persons (September 2022: 2.82 million persons).
The number of unemployed persons declined marginally to 602.0 thousand persons, with a reduction of 0.5 per cent (-3.0 thousand persons) in October 2022, as compared to 605.0 thousand persons in September 2022. October’s unemployment rate remained at 3.6 per cent, 0.3 percentage points higher than its pre-pandemic level (February 2020: 3.3%).
During the month, the number of labour force continued to expand, with a month-on-month increase of 0.2 per cent or 26.3 thousand persons to 16.68 million persons (September 2022: 16.66 million persons). October’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) stood at 69.7 per cent.
In October 2022, the number of persons outside labour force continued a downward trend since August 2021, decreasing by 1.9 thousand persons (-0.03%) to record 7.24 million persons (September 2022: 7.24 million persons).
The majority of the outside labour force was due to housework/ family responsibilities, with a share of 43.3 per cent, followed by schooling/ training with 40.9 per cent.
