Malaysia’s total jobs rise 1.5 pct on year in Q2

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) — The labor demand in Malaysia continued to expand in the second quarter, with the number of jobs increasing by 1.5 percent year on year to 8.96 million, official data showed Wednesday.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that the growth in the number of jobs is aligned with the unemployment rate holding steady at 3.3 percent.
“The trend is foreseen to remain stable until the end of this year, after a strong domestic economy and recovering external trade,” it said.
Looking ahead, it noted an increase in the export performance is anticipated, along with potential investments coming into the country, which create more jobs.
The number of filled jobs in the second quarter strengthened by 1.5 percent year on year to 8.76 million while the number of job vacancies, on the other hand, grew 0.8 percent year on year to 191,400.
The number of jobs created for the quarter increased at a slower pace by 0.5 percent to 31,900.
The labor demand is poised to continue to be stable throughout 2024 with positive hiring trends, driven by the sturdy growth in the services sector, the DOSM said.
This indication was also supported by the ongoing positive momentum in the domestic economy and a recovery in global trade particularly in the manufacturing sector, it said. ■