PUTRAJAYA, Oct 10 — The number of unemployed persons decreased by 0.3 per cent in August 2023 to 577,300 from 579,200 people last month, while the unemployment rate remained at 3.4 per cent, according to the Statistics of the Labour Force released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) today.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin in a statement said the labour market was stable in August 2023 with a continuous increase in the number of employed persons, while the number of unemployed persons continued to decline.
He said the labour force in August 2023 continued its upward trend with a month-on-month increase of 0.1 per cent to 16.93 million people from 16.91 million people in July, while the August labour force participation rate stood at 70.1 per cent as recorded in July.
Mohd Uzir said the number of employed persons in August 2023 increased by 0.1 per cent to 16.35 million people compared to 16.34 million people in July.
On the labour force, he said 75.4 per cent of the total working population were under the employees’ category, and this category increased by 0.1 per cent recording 12.32 million people compared to 12.31 million people previously.
The self-employed population also recorded an increase of 0.3 per cent in August 2023 to 2.97 million people from 2.96 million people in July.
“By economic sector, employment in the service sector continued to show an upward trend, especially in wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage services as well as transportation and storage activities,” he said.
The manufacturing, agriculture, construction and mining and quarrying sectors also recorded increases in August, he said.
He said the unemployment situation in August showed the actively unemployed or those who were available for work and actively seeking jobs, comprised 80 per cent of the total unemployed persons.
He said this category decreased by 0.6 per cent to 462,100 people in August 2023 compared to 464,700 people in July.
“Among the actively unemployed, 61.4 per cent were those who have been unemployed for less than three months while 6.2 per cent were those who were in long-term unemployment for over a year,” he said.
He said those who believed that there were no jobs available or the inactively unemployed, recorded an increase of 0.6 per cent to 115,200 people from 114,500 people in July.
Mohd Uzir said as for those outside the labour force, 42.9 per cent were due to housework or family responsibilities, while 40.1 per cent were due to schooling or training.
“The country’s labour market position is expected to experience moderate growth in the coming months, considering challenges in the economy,” he said.
