Aug unemployment stable at 4.7pct, but much higher than last year

Unemployment was 4.7 percent in August, unchanged from the month before. The estimated number of unemployed persons decreased by a marginal 3,500 month-on-month to 741,600.

According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), the unemployment rate was considerably higher than the same month last year (3.3 percent). At the time, there were an estimated 520,200 unemployed persons.

This represented a 42 percent increase in the number of unemployed persons compared to the same period last year.

Unemployment hit a 30-year-high of 5.3 percent in May before gradually tapering down. Average unemployment in 2019 was approximately 3.32 percent.

The labour force had increased to a record 15.9 million persons in August. Male participation in the labour force was 80.4 percent, while female participation was 55.1 percent.

However, on a year-on-year basis, the number of persons outside the labour force had increased by 2.5 percent.

"The largest share of outside labour force was due to schooling/training at 42.4 percent followed by housework/family responsibility with a share of 41.7 percent," said the DOSM.

The department projected the labour force situation to continue to improve this year, but the recent spike in Covid-19 cases could hinder improvements to unemployment.

The DOSM also added that two government initiatives - the social security programme Penjana Gig and digital freelancer programme Global Online Workforce Programme (Glow) - could potentially help the labour market regain momentum.

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