KUALA LUMPUR: The unemployment rate in November has returned to pre-pandemic levels of 3.3 per cent, registering 569,000 unemployed persons, compared with 3.4 per cent recorded in October, according to the Labour Force statistics released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Chief Statistician Datouk Sri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the November figures signalled positive growth of the current economy, with the continuous increase in the number of employed persons, whereas unemployment further declined.
"Therefore, the number of labour force continued to register an increase in November 2023, rising by 0.2 per cent month-on-month to 17 million persons (October 2023: 16.97 million persons).
"The labour force participation rate in November 2023 stood at 70.1 per cent, similar to the preceding month," he said in a statement.
He also explained that the number of employed persons in November 2023 continued to rise with an addition of 0.2 per cent, reaching a total of 16.43 million people compared to the prior month (October 2023: 16.40 million).
In contrast, the number of unemployed individuals in November 2023 saw a persistent decrease, marking a reduction of 0.3 per cent to 569,200 (October 2023: 570,900).
Out of the total employed persons in November 2023, 75.3 per cent were in the employees' category. This category posted a slight increase of 0.1 per cent to 12.37 million individuals.
On the same note, the own-account workers category was on an upward trend, rising by 0.3 per cent to 2.99 million.
The number of employed individuals in the services sector continued to increase particularly in information & communication; food & beverage services; and transportation & storage activities.
Similarly, the manufacturing, construction and mining & quarrying sectors also showed rises in the number of employed persons in November 2023.
Meanwhile, the agriculture sector recorded a decline in the number of employed persons during the same month.
Mohd Uzir added those who were available for work and were actively seeking jobs or the actively unemployed, comprised 79.9 per cent of the total unemployed persons. This category dropped by 0.6 per cent to 454,500 individuals.
By duration of unemployment for the actively unemployed, 61.8 per cent were those who were unemployed for less than three months, while 6.3 per cent were those who were in long-term unemployment for more than a year.
Nevertheless, the inactively unemployed or those who believed that there were no jobs available, rose by 0.8 per cent to 114,700 people.
The unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 years edged down by 0.1 percentage points to 10.6 per cent in November 2023.
As for the inactivity group, the number of outside labour force during the month was in a downward trend, with a marginal decline of 0.03 per cent to record 7.24 million people.
Housework or family responsibilities were the major composition of the outside labour force (42.6 per cent), while the schooling or training category ranked second with 41.1 per cent.
"Despite the global challenges, Malaysia's diversified economic structure and strong fundamentals facilitated stable economic growth.
"Therefore, the country's labour market also showed steady growth momentum for the eleven-month period in 2023, with an increasing number of employed persons and unemployment dwindling to bring the unemployment rate back to its pre-pandemic levels.
"Moreover, the upcoming holiday season is poised to boost the economy, particularly in tourism activities," he said.
Although floods in 2023 impacted several states in Malaysia, Mohd Uzir stated the situation is unlikely to significantly affect the overall labour market as they are seen as affecting the local area.
Thus, the country's labour market landscape is expected to remain in a strong position in the coming months, in line with the country's growing economic performance.
