By Selangor Journal Team
SHAH ALAM, Sept 8 — The latest Statistics Department (DOSM) data showed unemployment in the country is on the decline.
The number of unemployed individuals stood at 579,200 in July, which brings the joblessness rate to 3.4 per cent.
For comparison, 581,700 individuals were unemployed in June, while the figure for May was 584,000.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the labour market continued to expand moderately in July, with the labour force expanding by 0.1 per cent to 16.91 million people compared with 16.89 million the previous month.
The number of employed individuals increased 0.2 per cent month-on-month to 16.34 million from 16.31 million.
In a statement, DOSM said Malaysia’s labour force position is expected to remain positive and expand moderately in the upcoming month.
This is in line with positive business expectations for the third quarter, supported by job market stability, growth in domestic tourism and more optimistic prospects in the health tourism industry.
Uzir said the employee category, which has consistently made up the largest composition of employed persons, comprised 75.4 per cent, or 12.31 million people, of overall employment in the country for July.
This is an increase of 0.1 per cent from June’s 12.3 million.
“Likewise, own-account workers also saw an increasing trend, with a rise of 0.4 per cent to 2.96 million people compared to June’s 2.95 million,” he said today.
In terms of economic sectors, Uzir said the services sector continued to see an increase in the number of employed individuals, particularly in the food and beverages services, wholesale and retail trade, and education activities.
Similarly, the construction, and mining and quarrying sectors also recorded improvements in employment, although the manufacturing and agriculture sectors saw marginal declines in July.
Uzir said active jobseekers made up 80.2 per cent, or 464,700 people, of the total unemployed individuals in July, a decrease of 0.5 per cent from June’s 466,900.
“By duration of unemployment for the active jobseekers, those who were unemployed for less than three months comprised 61.3 per cent, while 6.3 per cent have been in long-term unemployment for more than a year.”
For the inactive group, or those who believe there are no jobs currently available, there was a decline of 0.3 per cent to 114,000 people from 114,800 in June.
Uzir said the unemployment rate among youth aged 15 to 24 dropped marginally by 0.1 percentage point to 10.9 per cent. In total, 311,200 individuals from this group were unemployed in July, compared with June’s 312,400.
Similarly, the unemployment rate among youth aged 15 to 30 also edged down by 0.1 percentage point to 6.8 per cent, with 444,800 individuals.
“As for the inactive group, the number of persons outside the labour force declined marginally by 0.01 per cent to 7.23 million persons in July.
“Housework and family responsibilities were the major composition of the outside labour force, accounting for 43.6 per cent, followed by the schooling and training category (39.8 per cent).”
