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PUTRAJAYA: The number of jobs in the first quarter (Q1) of this year has increased by 1.5 percent to 8.94 million, the highest recorded since 2018, according to the Employment Statistics, First Quarter 2024 released on Wednesday (May 15).
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin (pic), in a statement, said 8.81 million jobs were recorded in Q1 2023.
He said the growth in the number of jobs indicates that labour demand in Malaysia may continue to be favourable in 2024, as Malaysia's economy is predicted to expand at a quicker rate of four to five percent following external demand and greater investment.
Regarding the job situation by economic activity, he said the number of filled jobs was on an upward trend, with a year-on-year performance rising by 1.5 percent from 8.61 million in Q1 2023 to 8.75 million in Q1 2024.
"The number of job vacancies during this quarter continued to be on a downward trend, with a marginal decrease of 0.4 percent to record 191,900 vacancies (Q1 2023: 192,600).
Mohd Uzir said the number of filled jobs remained stable in line with the development of the current economic situation, with the agriculture sector registering the highest growth at 4.0 percent, followed by services (1.8 percent) and manufacturing (1.1 percent).
Based on the breakdown of filled jobs by economic sector, the services sector constitutes the largest composition with 52.7 percent or equivalent to 4.61 million, followed by manufacturing (26.9 percent; 2.35 million) and construction (14.2 percent; 1.24 million).
"Out of the total number of filled jobs, the semi-skilled category led the chart with 5.48 million jobs (62.7 percent), followed by skilled with 2.19 million (25.1 percent) and low-skilled with 1.07 million (12.2 percent),” he said.
Meanwhile, Mohd Uzir said 32,100 jobs were created in Q1 2024 compared to 31,700 in Q1 2023.
He said the semi-skilled category made up the biggest share at 61.9 percent with 19,900 jobs, followed by skilled and low-skilled at 27.6 percent (8,900 jobs) and 10.5 percent (3,400 jobs), respectively. – Bernama
