Malaysia registers unemployment rate of 3.9% in April

Malaysia has registered an unemployment rate of 3.9% in April, marking the first time the jobless rate has fallen below 4% since March 2020. The unemployment rate for youths aged 15 to 24 reached a 10-month low of 12.8% in April, falling by 3,800 to 357,200 over the month. 

In terms of total employment, the labour market registered its highest gain in six months, rising by 84,100 to a new high of 15.85 million. This was attributed to continued employment in wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage, human and social work activities, manufacturing and construction sectors, and the resumption of employment in the agriculture sector for the first time in 23 months.

However, the mining and quarrying industries still recorded a decline in employment for the 21st consecutive month.

The unemployment rate in April still remained higher than pre-pandemic levels of over 500,000 a month, with those actively unemployed accounting for 83.6% of total job losses.

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For those who were unemployed, the main reason cited for not finding work in April was due to home obligations or family work, comprising 42% or 3.05 million people, followed by schooling or training reasons, comprising 40.6% or 2.95 million people.