Manufacturing sales rose 4.6 percent in August from a year earlier, official data showed today.

Manufacturing sales in August rose to RM27.1 billion, the Department of Statistics said.

The August manufacturing sales also expanded 3.4 from the previous month of July, the department said in a statement.

Analysts said the figures reflected the country's economic recovery was gathering strength.

"Judging from these figures, it will surely help to strengthen the Malaysian economy for the third quarter," an analyst with a local brokerage told AFP .

In July, manufacturing sales rose 2.0 percent year-on-year and was 0.4 percent higher compared with June, according to statistics released last month.

National Economic Action Council executive director Mustapa Mohamed had said Malaysia maintained growth forecasts of 4.0 percent for 2002 and 6.0-6.5 percent in 2003 despite market concerns arising from the Bali bomb blast and a possible US attack on Iraq.

Employment in August improved marginally by 0.01 percent to 987,386 compared with the previous month, which one analyst said would help boost consumer spending.

But the department said the number of employees hired by the manufacturing sector contracted 2.1 percent year-on-year at end-August.

Total salaries and wages in August rose 5.5 percent year-on-year to 1.53 billion ringgit but declined by 1.3 percent from a month earlier.

In the eight months to August, the manufacturing sector posted sales of 200.7 billion ringgit, down 4.2 percent from a year earlier.

During the eight months, total salaries and wages paid fell 0.8 percent year-on-year to RM11.88 billion, it said. AFP