Malaysia’s unemployment rate falls to 3.4% in June
The number of jobless people in Malaysia fell to 3.4% in June 2023, down from 3.5% recorded in the previous month, according to the Statistics of the Labour Force, June and second quarter 2023, released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Its Chief Statistician, Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, said the number of unemployed people fell to 581,700 from 584,600 in the previous month.
He said Malaysia’s labour market remained stable in June 2023 contributed by the continuous increase in the number of jobs created. “Therefore, the number of [people in] the labour force in June 2023 strengthened further by 0.2% to record 16.89 million people,” he said.
Out of the total employed people in June 2023, 75.4% were employees, an increase of 0.1% to 12.30 million people from 12.29 million people in May 2023, he said.
The number of self-employed people also grew, by 0.5%, representing 2.95 million people, he added.
By economic sector, Mohd Uzir said employment in the services sector remained on an upward trend, mainly in food and beverage services, wholesale and retail trade, as well as transportation and storage activities.
The number of employed people working in the manufacturing, construction, mining and quarrying, as well as agriculture sectors, also saw increases during June.
He said the actively unemployed or those who were available for work and were actively seeking jobs, comprised 80.3 per cent of the total unemployed persons, and this category decreased by 0.8 per cent to 466,900 persons from 470,400 persons previously.
Among the jobless, 61.1% had been unemployed for less than three months, while 6.6% had been long-term unemployed for more than a year, he said.
The unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 24 years in June 2023 remained at 11%, down slightly from 312,400 people from 313,000 in May, while the unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 30 years fell by 0.1 percentage point to 6.9%.
Mohd Uzir said the unemployment rate in the second quarter of 2023 remained at 3.5 per cent as in the previous quarter, he said.
“The labour force’s position in the upcoming months is expected to continue to grow steadily in line with the expectations of Malaysia’s Leading Index, which anticipates a good economic outlook in the coming months,” he said.
Foreign investment continues to rise
Malaysia saw an increase in foreign investment in July, according to RAM Ratings, which said that both the equity and bond markets saw keener foreign buying activity. Foreign inflows into the bond market more than doubled month-on-month to RM11.3 billion (£1.9 billion), up from June’s figure of RM5.2 billion. This is the largest figure recorded since June 2020 and the seventh successive month of foreign net purchases.
Oversall, Malaysia has seen a surge in foreign investments, with a total of RM71.4 billion approved in the first quarter of this year, according to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
This represents a 60% of 60 compared with the same period last year, Anwar said after meeting Japanese ambassador to Malaysia Takahashi Katsuhiko and a delegation of the Japanese Chamber of Trade and Industry Malaysia.
The Prime Minister said that Japan, one of Malaysia’s most important trading partners, has committed investments of RM23 billion so far this year.
Japan is Malaysia’s fourth-largest trading partner, with a total trade volume of about RM181.51 billion in 2022. The country is one of the main sources of foreign direct investment (FDI) in manufacturing projects in Malaysia.
Last year, a total of 2,746 projects were implemented, with investments worth RM91.14 billion and the creation of 336,326 jobs.
The continuous increase in FDI is evidence of the growing confidence of foreign investors in Malaysia’s progress and economic potential, Anwar said, adding that the country’s expansion rate is higher than the Asean average and the second highest in the region.
Anwar said Malaysia’s economic foundation remains strong, as demonstrated by low inflation and a more stable political landscape. The demand for Malaysian products and services is also increasing.
“The government is also firmly committed to developing new industries such as the digital economy and green technology. I am very optimistic about the future performance of investments in Malaysia, which will undoubtedly continue to thrive.
“The government will continue to strive to strengthen the investment climate. We are also improving the ease of doing business, attracting high-value and impactful investments, and creating a competitive local workforce.”
