The sales value of the Manufacturing sector slipped further by 2.6 per cent in November 2023 from the 1.4 per cent decline registered in the preceding month.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) released its Monthly Manufacturing Statistics, Malaysia, November 2023 today (Jan 11) which cited the decrease was primarily due to the substantial drop in the Petroleum, chemical, rubber & plastic products sub-sector by 10.8 per cent (October 2023: -9.5%); and the Electrical & electronics products sub-sector which fell by 5.3 per cent (October 2023: -2.7%).
As compared to the preceding month, the sales value descended by 1.1 per cent as against RM156.7 billion recorded in October 2023 (-0.7%).
The sales value of export-oriented industries which accounted for more than two-thirds of total sales, posted a wider decline by 6.9 per cent in November 2023 as compared to the negative 5.2 per cent registered in October 2023.
Nonetheless, the domestic-oriented industries sustained the positive momentum by recording 8.8 per cent in November 2023 (October 2023: 9.7%).
On a month-on-month comparison, export-oriented industries dropped by 3.6 per cent while domestic-oriented industries expanded by 5.3 per cent.
The Manufacturing sector engaged 2.38 million persons in November 2023, an increase of 2.1 per cent as compared to the 2.33 million persons registered in November 2022.
The increment was mainly attributable to the rise in the number of employees in the Food, beverages & tobacco (6.9%); Non-metallic mineral products, basic metal & fabricated metal products (2.3%); and Electrical & electronic products (0.7%) sub-sectors.
On a month-on-month basis, the number of employees in the Manufacturing sector declined slightly by 0.04 per cent.
In tandem with the addition in the number of employees, the salaries & wages paid in the Manufacturing sector rose by 3.3 per cent year-on-year, totalling RM8.1 billion in November 2023.
On a month-on-month comparison, the salaries & wages paid posted a marginal growth of 0.04 per cent as against 0.1 per cent registered in October 2023.
Furthermore, the sales value per employee decreased by 4.7 per cent to record RM65,193 while the average salaries & wages per employee in November 2023 was RM3,428 which rose by 1.1 per cent year-on-year.
Summarising the performance for the first eleven months of 2023, the sales value of the Manufacturing sector attained RM1.65 trillion, grew marginally by 0.6 per cent as compared to the same period in the preceding year (January – November 2022: 16.6%).
During this period, the number of employees added by 2.1 per cent, to record a total of 2.38 million persons while salaries & wages advanced by 3.6 per cent, amounting to RM89.0 billion.
Meanwhile, the sales value per employee declined by 1.8 per cent, amounting to RM701,986.
