PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia’s unemployment rate held steady at 3% in July, unchanged from June, with 520,300 people out of work, according to the latest Statistics Department figures.
The labour force grew 0.1% month-on-month to 17.37 million from 17.34 million in June, while the labour force participation rate stayed at 70.9%, the department said in a statement yesterday.
The number of employed people rose 0.1% to 16.85 million from 16.83 million.
Employees, who made up 74.9% of total employment, increased 0.1% to 12.62 million, while the number of self-employed rose 0.3% to 3.16 million.
The services sector remained the biggest contributor to employment, driven by arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food and beverage services; and finance and insurance or takaful activities.
Employment also rose in agriculture, mining and quarrying, manufacturing and construction.
Active unemployed people, or those available for work and actively looking for a job, made up 79.3% of the jobless, with their number rising 0.4% to 412,600.
Of this group, 63.5% had been out of work for less than three months, while 5.4% had been unemployed for more than a year.
The unemployment rate among those aged 15 to 24 stayed at 10.2%, involving 292,500 people.
For those aged 15 to 30, the rate rose to 6.4% from 6.3% in June.
The department said the labour market remained strong and resilient in July, with continued employment growth and a low unemployment rate.
