SEREMBAN – Negri Sembilan’s unemployment rate rose to 3.6% in the second quarter of this year following the Covid-19 pandemic, compared with 3.3% recorded in the first quarter, the state assembly was told today
State human resources, plantation and non-Muslim affairs action committee chairman J. Arul Kumar said this brought the total number of unemployed individuals in the state to 35,000.
“This is due to the global economic uncertainty following the Covid-19 pandemic, which has resulted in a drop in demand apart from the implementation of the movement control order, causing some employers to close operations or reduce manpower.
“The uncertainty of this situation also affects new investments and in turn reduces the existence of new job opportunities,” he said at an oral question-and-answer session at today’s sitting.
He was replying to a question from Mustapha Nagoor (BN-Palong) who wanted to know the latest status of the unemployment rate in the state and its contributing factors as well as the state government’s efforts to address the problem.
Arul Kumar also said that the mismatch between the industry’s needs and jobseekers’ skills and qualifications, limited employment opportunities in non-technical fields, as well as a general attitude of choosiness among applicants also led to an increase in the number of those unemployed.
He said the state government encourages both domestic and foreign investments, is creating employment opportunities, and providing an effective matching mechanism to help people find employment via JobsMalaysia.
“Apart from online job matching, career carnivals and open interviews are being arranged at all times to help jobseekers find employment. Jobseekers are also guided in preparing good resumes and given tips for interviews,” he said. – Bernama, November 30, 2020
