Number of unemployed persons decreases in April, lowest in 10 years

Malaysia's unemployment rate drops from 3.1 percent in March to three percent in April, the lowest in 10 years, according to the Statistics of the Labour Force Malaysia for April 2025 released by the Statistics Department today.

Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin stated that the number of unemployed persons decreased by 0.7 percent to 525,900 persons in April 2025, compared to 529,600 persons in March.

“A promising country's economic position has contributed to stable progress in Malaysia's labour force during the month, with an increase in the number of employed persons and higher labour force participation rates, while unemployment continues to decrease,” he said in a statement.

He said the number of labour force continued its upward trend in April, increasing by 0.2 percent to 17.34 million persons compared to 17.31 million persons in March.

“Consequently, the labour force participation rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 70.8 percent compared to 70.7 percent in March, indicating more labour participation in the market,” he said.

In terms of the economic sector, Uzir stated that the services sector remained a key driver of employment growth, particularly in wholesale and retail trade, accommodation, food and beverage services, as well as transportation and storage activities.

He said positive trends were also recorded across the manufacturing, construction, agriculture as well as mining and quarrying sectors.

Uzir said the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 years was unchanged at 10.3 percent in April 2025, with 298.3 thousand unemployed youths.

He said the number of persons outside the labour force rose by 0.2 percent to 7.17 million persons in April compared to 7.16 million persons in the preceding month, mainly due to housework and family responsibilities accounted for 43.7 percent, followed by schooling and training reasons at 41.1 percent.

Uzir said the country's labour force is anticipated to remain optimistic and expand in the coming months of this year, bolstered by strong economic policies and stable domestic demand.

“Despite the global geopolitical tensions, Malaysia's labour force is seen to remain resilient due to stable unemployment, the growing services sector and technology, as well as an increasing investment in digitalisation and automation,” he added.

- Bernama

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