Malaysia’s unemployment rate falls to 4.6% in April

Malaysia’s unemployment rate has fallen to 4.6% in April, reveals data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

The number of unemployed persons in April totalled 742,700 persons, falling by 0.1 percentage point or 10,500 persons month-on-month, from 753,200 recorded in March.

“Malaysia’s labour force continued to be on a recovery path in April 2021 as Recovery Movement Control Order (MCO) in most states and Conditional MCO gave more opportunities for businesses to continue their activities in full capacity, while adhering to strict standard operating procedures,” said Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

The labour force participation rate for the month stood at 68.6%. “Out of the total actively unemployed, 52.1% were unemployed for less than three months,” he said. 

The services sector saw an increase in the number of employed persons, across wholesale and retail trade; food and beverages services; education; and human health and social work activities.

This was also consistent across the manufacturing and construction sectors. However, agriculture, mining and quarrying sectors continued to record a negative month-on-month momentum.

READ: Malaysian employers cannot force non-essential service workers to office

“Labour market [conditions are] foreseen to face another challenging situation in the upcoming months but the provision of various assistance by the government may cushion the impact and subsequently restore the labour market condition,” he noted.