PUTRAJAYA: The unemployment rate in February remained at 2.9 per cent, with fewer unemployed people at 506,800, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that Malaysia's economic position remained resilient in February, supported by a stable domestic demand and the continued growth in the services sector and investment-linked activities.
"This economic position is also reflected in the labour market, which remains stable while showing early signs of gradual structural adjustment,” he said in a statement on Friday (April 10).
As such, he said, the labour force in that month increased 0.1 per cent to 17.30 million people compared to the previous month (January 2026: 17.28 million people), while the labour force participation rate for February remained at 70.9 per cent, unchanged from the previous month.
On the number of employed persons for the month, Mohd Uzir said the upward trend recorded a slight increase of 0.1 per cent to 16.79 million people, up from 16.77 million people in January.
"At the same time, the number of unemployed persons dropped 0.6 per cent to 506,800 people compared to 509,600 in January. The February unemployment rate remained at 2.9 per cent, as it had in the previous month,” he said.
He said the employee category accounted for 75.0 per cent of the total number of employed people, up 0.1 per cent to 12.59 million, compared with the previous month.
"In addition, the number of self-employed people increased by 0.3 per cent to 3.13 million people compared to the previous month,” he said.
According to him, the number of people working in the services sector was on an upward trend in February, with wholesale and retail trade activities remaining the main contributors, followed by accommodation and food and beverage services activities, and information and communications.
He added that employment in the agriculture, manufacturing and construction sectors also increased, while that in the mining and quarrying sectors decreased. - Bernama
