Unemployment rate stays at 3.3% for January 2024, says Stats Dept

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia’s unemployment rate remained at 3.3% in January 2024, with the number of unemployed persons declining further to 567,300 from 567,800 in December 2023, says the Statistics Department of Malaysia.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that based on the Labour Force Statistics for January 2024, the country’s labour market sustained its upward trend, in line with the ongoing improvement of the national economic situation and consistent with global economic expansion.

ALSO READ: Unemployment dropped to 567,800 individuals in December, says statistics department

“Therefore, the labour force in January 2024 saw further enhancement, increasing by 0.1% to 17.05 million persons compared to 17.03 million persons the previous month.

“The labour force participation rate during the month was unchanged at 70.2%, as in the preceding month.

“This positive trend was driven by a continuous increase in the number of employed persons, while the number of unemployed persons declined,” he said in a statement Friday (March 8).

ALSO READ: Skills development crucial for the future of work

Mohd Uzir said the number of employed persons increased by 0.2% to record 16.48 million persons compared to 16.46 million in December 2023.

Elaborating on the employment situation, he said 75.2% of employed persons in January 2024 were in the employees’ category, while the own-account workers category continued its increasing trend, rising by 0.3% to 3.01 million persons from three million persons in December.

At the same time, Mohd Uzir said the number of employed persons in the service sector remained upward, particularly in the wholesale and retail sector, food and beverage services, and transportation and storage activities.

He added that a similar trend was seen in the manufacturing, construction, mining and quarrying sectors in January 2024, while the number of employed persons in the agriculture sector rebounded compared to the previous month.

Regarding the unemployment situation, he said 79.8% of the total unemployed persons were those who were available for work and were actively seeking jobs, or the actively unemployed, which posted a decrease of 0.2% to 452,500 persons from 453,600 in December.

According to Mohd Uzir, the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 stood at 10.6% or 306,800 persons, while among youth aged 15 to 30, the rate was 6.7%, with 439,700 unemployed youths.

Meanwhile, Mohd Uzir said the economic situation in Malaysia was steady, with higher domestic demand anticipated due to January’s decline in inflation, a robust job market, and supportive financial positions.

Additionally, the increase in tourism may contribute to economic activities, potentially leading to various businesses and job opportunities.

“Therefore, the labour market in Malaysia is anticipated to improve and remain stable over the next few months, driven by a resilient domestic economy.

“This situation is expected to continue to generate increased demand for employment, thus serving as an important key to sustaining economic stability,” he said. – BK