MUAR – The government is working to create 500,000 jobs through the National Employment Council (NEC) despite the country’s economy being in dire straits as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the number of those unemployed this year had increased to 700,000 or 5.6%, compared with only 3% the previous year.
“The number of those unemployed has risen. Businesses had to close shop and suffer losses as the people have no income. Some had to lay off workers or stop hiring new ones.
“This is why the government has set up an employment council, which I am chairing, to ensure the country's economy continues to be organised and to find ways to help the people, who are now mostly unemployed and have no income,” he said. – Bernama, December 13, 2020
