KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian labour market is expected to strengthen further this year, underpinned by continuous upbeat momentum in the domestic economy and modest expansion in the external sector, according to MIDF Research.
In a note today, it said that the strengthening job market will further reinforce consumer consumption and support overall gross domestic product (GDP) growth for this year.
“However, we expect slight moderation of employment growth in the second half of this year following weakening external trade performances.
“We foresee Malaysia’s unemployment rate to decline further to 3.5% but slightly higher than the pre-pandemic level of 3.3%,” said MIDF Research.
The research house noted that the steady expansion in primary sectors as well as construction and services would prop up more employment opportunities next year.
Labour force and employment are expected to pick up by +1.6% respectively this year.
Meanwhile, the Statistics Department released the country’s labour force data today.
A month-on-month comparison showed that the number of employed persons in April inched up 0.2% to record 16.25 million persons versus 16.22 million in March.
The unemployment rate in April stood at 3.5%, unchanged from March. – Bernama, June 9, 2023
