The number of employees who lost their jobs last year is still at a normal level, not as depicted by the Malaysian Employers’ Federation, said Human Resources Minister Richard Riot.

He said the MEF’s allegations that more than 50,000 employees lost their jobs in 2017 could have been made without referring to correct sources as the statistics of the Labour Department showed otherwise.

“I am not sure where they obtained the figures, so I think it is just a projection by the MEF.

“Based on studies done by the Labour Department, only about 35,000 people lost their jobs, and this is normal,” he said when commenting on a statement by MEF on employees losing jobs because of the sluggish economy. 

Speaking at a press conference held after presenting Employment Insurance Scheme (EIS) interim aid to the first eight applicants here today, Riot said the situation would be balanced up by the 300,000 jobs which will be created this year.

The manufacturing sector is expected to provide the most number of jobs, followed by the plantation and service sectors, he said.

According to the Labour Department report, between January and December 2017, the services of 35,097 workers were terminated, a drop of 6.2 percent compared to the 37,699 in 2016.

Of this, the services of 31,159 employees or 89 percent were terminated through the normal process, while 3,938 employees or 11 per cent were terminated through the voluntary separation scheme (VSS) with the highest number, 25,370 (72 percent), being in the manufacturing sector.

On the EIS, Riot said the scheme was an assurance that employees who had lost their jobs would get immediate assistance, and 175 applications had been received since it was implemented on Jan 1.

Under the Insurance System Act 2017, individuals who lost their jobs were eligible for an interim benefit of RM600 for a maximum period of three months, but payment will be stopped once the applicant gets a new job.

- Bernama