Manufacturing sales rose 5.2 percent in May from a year earlier to 26.4 billion and were up 0.8 percent from April, official data showed today.

According to earlier figures, April manufacturing sales rose 4.9 percent year-on-year to RM25.8 billion but declined 11 percent from March.

In a statement, the Statistics Department said a total of 980,588 persons were employed in the manufacturing sector as of end-May, up 0.4 percent year-on-year but 0.3 percent lower compared to April.