PUTRAJAYA: Unemployment continued to decline in the second quarter of 2024, in line with increased demand for labour in the economic sector, according to the Labour Market Review, Second Quarter 2024 (LMR Q2 2024) released on Friday (Aug 23).
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the labour force grew by 2.5% to 17.15 million people, primarily driven by a 2.8% increase in the number of employed persons, which reached 16.59 million in the second quarter of 2024.
"During the same period, the number of unemployed persons continued to decrease by 4.1% to 557,800, registering an unemployment rate of 3.3%, unchanged for three consecutive quarters,” he said in a statement.
He noted that escalating household spending due to a strong labour market and broader policy support contributed to the improved performance of Malaysia’s economy, which achieved a higher growth rate of 5.9% in the second quarter of 2024 compared to 4.2% in the preceding quarter.
Additionally, further expansion in exports and potential investments flowing into the country also played important roles in strengthening the demand for labour.
Mohd Uzir said the labour supply remained strong as the labour force participation rate increased by 0.5 percentage points year-on-year to 70.5%.
Observing the underemployment situation in the second quarter of 2024, the number of persons working less than 30 hours per week declined by 1.6% compared to the same quarter in 2023.
"As a result, the number of persons in time-related underemployment decreased by 8.9% to 169,800 persons, with a rate of 1.0%,” he said.
As the economy advanced in the second quarter of 2024, labour productivity measured by value added per employment edged up by 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year, reaching a value of RM24,151 per person (Q2 2023: RM23,434; Q1 2024: RM24,236).
Meanwhile, the total hours worked during the second quarter of 2024 improved by 3.4%, registering a total of 9.61 billion hours.
"Consequently, value added per hour worked increased by 2.4% with a value of RM41.7 per hour (Q2 2023: RM40.7; Q1 2024: RM42.1),” he added. – Bernama
