KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s increased investments in the first quarter of this year may convince investors to stay, thus opening up employment opportunities, especially for fresh graduates, the Statistics Department said.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that according to data from the International Trade and Industry Ministry, Malaysia recorded RM80.6 billion in approved investments in the manufacturing, services and main sectors in the first quarter of 2021, a jump of 95.6% from the same period last year.
“The increase in investment approvals in the country will give hope for jobs to graduates and activate the Malaysian economy in various sectors,” he said in an interview on Bernama TV’s Malaysia Petang Ini programme today, themed “Covid-19: The Meaning Behind the Data”.
Uzir said that at the same time, the increase in the value of investment would be able to reduce the unemployment rate in the country.
According to the department’s statistics, he said, the unemployment rate declined to 4.6%, or a reduction by 10,500 people in April 2021, the lowest since October 2020.
He said the 0.1% reduction brought the number of unemployed to 742,700 people compared with 753,200 people in March this year.
However, he said the recovery of the country’s economy since the end of last year could be impacted by the threat of the pandemic, as well as the movement control order that commenced on June 1.
“Nevertheless, according to the department’s data in general, the country’s economy showed an improving trend in April 2021,” he said.
He said the data also showed that Malaysia’s gross domestic product contracted marginally by 0.5% in the first quarter but reflected a recovery compared with a 3.4% contraction in the previous quarter.
This improvement was supported by expansion in the manufacturing sector, recovery in agriculture, and better performances recorded by all sectors of the economy compared with that of the last two quarters, he added. – Bernama, June 14, 2021
