Malaysia's labour force grows 2.4% in Q2

In order to drive this shift so that the country can benefit from it, talent requirements would need to be addressed comprehensively, according to the mid-term review of 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP).

KUALA LUMPUR: The labour force in Malaysia increased 2.4% to 15.28 million persons in the second quarter of 2018, as compared to the same quarter in 2017.

"The employed persons also recorded an increased of 2.4 per cent in the same period to 14.77 million persons," said Datuk Sri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, Chief Statistician of the Department of Statistics, Malaysia.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in Q2 also dropped 0.1 percentage points to 3.3% as compared to a year ago, bringing the number of unemployed persons to 511,100.

The labour force participation rate (LFPR) of females in Malaysia grew 0.2 percentage points to 55.3% as compared to the previous quarter.

"Female LFPR in the labour market for prime age 2 25-34 years (73.4%), 35-44 years (68.8%) and 45-54 years (57.8%) were higher as compared to female LFPR at the national level.

"Male LFPR also increased by 0.2 percentage points to 80.5 per cent in the second quarter of 2018. The age group that recorded more than 90 per cent of LFPR were 25-34 years (96.8%), 35-44 years (97.6%) and 45-54 years (94.5%)," said Mohd Uzir.