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.

In May, total salaries and wages rose 4.1 percent year-on-year but were down 0.6 percent month-on-month to RM1.53 billion, it added.

Reduced GDP

For the five months to May, manufacturing sales increased by 10.4 percent year-on-year to RM134.3 billion, with total salaries and wages rising 6.8 percent to RM7.8 billion, the department said.

The central bank has cut its official gross domestic product growth forecast to 4.5 percent this year from previous estimates of 6.0-6.5 percent due to the Iraq war and the outbreak of the deadly Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus in the region.

The government announced a RM7.3 billion economic stimulus package on May 21 partly to mitigate the effects of Sars on the economy. - AFP