Unemployed young and skilled must transition into high-demand sectors
KUALA LUMPUR: Employment and skills interventions to assist workers affected by job losses will be expanded to strengthen the resilience of the labour market amid global geopolitical crises.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri R. Ramanan (pic) said the move comes in light of a rise in loss of employment (LOE) cases recorded across several sectors during the first five months of this year.
Based on data from the Employment Insurance Scheme, a total of 38,953 individuals lost their jobs between January and May, with the majority aged between 25 and 39.
“By gender, men accounted for 23,536 cases or 60.4%, while women made up 15,417 cases or 39.6%,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Ramanan said job losses were mainly from the manufacturing sector, wholesale and retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles, as well as administrative and support service activities.
He said the situation was largely driven by organisational restructuring and business operational adjustments undertaken by companies to adapt to the current economic environment.
Despite these challenges, Ramanan said the nation’s labour market continues to demonstrate strong resilience, with the labour force reaching 17.33 million in April, while the unemployment rate remained low at 3%.
He added that the ministry was monitoring global economic and geopolitical developments to enable early interventions aimed at reducing risks to employment.
The rising number of job losses calls for accelerated workforce transition into higher-demand sectors, particularly among affected young and skilled workers, he added.
In this regard, workers are encouraged to make use of platforms such as the Labour Market Exchange (LMX) and MYFutureJobs Galaxy to access more comprehensive labour market information and plan suitable career pathways.
To ensure holistic support, Ramanan said the ministry was implementing various initiatives based on three key focuses.
The first, he noted, was centred on career transition and support through the MYFutureJobs platform.
“This aims to connect LOE workers with suitable job vacancies, alongside the use of labour market data via LMX and MYFutureJobs Galaxy to help workers make more informed career decisions,” he said.
The second focus, he added, involved upskilling and reskilling programmes by the Social Security Organisation to develop new skills or enhance existing ones in line with the needs of growing sectors.
He said the third focus involves early intervention in critical sectors by identifying industries that may be affected, enabling workers to adapt more quickly, seize career transition opportunities and strengthen their competitiveness.
