Jobs in economic sector dipped in 2Q due to movement curbs

Most of the job vacancies were in the manufacturing sector at 100,100 vacancies (56.2%), largely in the electrical, electronic and optical products sub-sector

KUALA LUMPUR: The total number of jobs in the economic sector shrank in the second quarter (2Q 21) from a year ago and on-quarter as labour demand was impacted by prolonged health crisis and containment measures imposed since March 2020.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said on Thursday total jobs in economic sector dipped by 0.4% to 8.35 million in 2Q (Q1 2021: -1.7%) as compared to 8.38 million jobs recorded a year ago.

He also said the number of jobs created in 2Q20 was the lowest registered since the series began in 2015 as most of the jobs by skill category were for the semi-skilled category.

“In comparison with the previous quarter, total jobs decreased further by 0.9% (1Q21: -0.4%) indicating uneven recovery momentum in labour demand following the impact of prolonged health crisis and containment measures imposed since March 2020,” he said.

These statistics are published in the report of employment statistics for 2Q, based on the Employment Survey conducted on registered businesses in the private sector.

The report presents labour demand statistics, encompassing of jobs, filled jobs, vacancies and jobs created by skill categories and economic activities.

Mohd Uzir said with the rise of Covid-19 new daily cases during this quarter, stringent containment measures were implemented since the middle of May which limited business operating hours and permitted only essential services to operate.

These subsequently were reflected by the decrease of 0.5% at 8.17 million jobs in 2Q21 (2Q20: 8.21 million).

In this quarter, the number of job vacancies in economic sector was 178,000, an increase of 5% due to low base number recorded in 2Q20 (169,500).

The number of job vacancies remained lower than an average of 200,000 job vacancies recorded during the pre-crisis period.

“Both rates of filled jobs and job vacancies during the quarter remained at 97.9% and 2.1% respectively,” he said.

Mohd Uzir said almost all sectors indicated a downward trend except for manufacturing sector which saw a 0.9% increase (1Q21: -0.1%) to register 2.16 million jobs.

More than half of filled jobs were concentrated in the services sector (52.4%), followed by manufacturing (26.4%) and construction (14.9%). The remaining 6.3% was in agriculture and mining & quarrying sectors.

From the viewpoint of skill category, filled jobs for both semi-skilled (-0.4%) and low-skilled (-2.0%) occupation categories declined while skilled jobs (0.1%) increased marginally as compared to 2Q20.

“In terms of composition by skill category, more than half was semi-skilled category with a share of 62.4% (5.1 million) whereas skilled category made up 24.7% (2.0 million),” he added.

He said most of the job vacancies were in the manufacturing sector at 100,100 vacancies (56.2%), largely in the electrical, electronic and optical products sub-sector (31,600); and followed by petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products (18,800).

As for agriculture, there were 29,200 job vacancies (16.4%), mostly in crops and livestock sub-sector.

The services sector recorded 27,600 job vacancies (15.5%) particularly in wholesale and retail trade activity. More than half of job vacancies in 2Q21 were semi-skilled category comprising 55% or 98,000 vacancies, followed by skilled category at 24% (42,800) and 21% in low-skilled category (37,300).

Mohd Uzir said the number of jobs created increased by 18.3% to 16,200 jobs on-year (2Q20: 13,700).

“For the record, number of jobs created in 2Q20 was the lowest registered since the series began in 2015. By skill category, jobs were largely created for semi-skilled category which accounted for 60.8% or 9,800 while skilled category comprised of 30.8% (5,000),” he said.

As for the distribution by economic sector, he said the manufacturing sector accounted for 44.6% or 7,200 jobs and followed by services sector with a share of 33.6% (5,400 job).

The remaining jobs created were in construction (16.9%), agriculture (4.3%) and mining & quarrying (0.6%).

Mohd Uzir said overall labour demand in economic sector in this quarter remained on a declining trend as business operations had yet to fully resume at normal levels due to the pandemic.

“Nevertheless, the ongoing economic stimulus packages and initiatives implemented by the government may ease the burden of businesses and subsequently enable employment to be retained in the economy.

“In addition, the positive development of the vaccination rate as targeted in the National Recovery Plan, will enable the businesses to gain more promising impact and lift up the recovery momentum of labour demand in Malaysia,” he said.

The second quarter 2021 employment statistics prepared by the Statistics Department.