KUANTAN, Oct 23 — The Pahang government is hopeful that the 2022 Budget that will be tabled on October 29 focuses on unemployment caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail said priority must be accorded to targeted citizens who are in dire straits due to job losses caused by the pandemic.

"We hope this budget will focus on reviving the national economy and reduce the rate of unemployment. We want targeted assistance for the deserving ones to receive basic needs,” he said at a media conference here today.

He said this after officiating the Pahang Employment Carnival, which was also attended by Socso (Social Security Organisation) deputy executive chairman (Operations) John Riba Anak Marin and Pahang Socso director Tarmizi Mukhtar.

Wan Rosdy said according to the statistics in the National Employment Service portal MYFutureJobs, 737 individuals in Pahang lost their jobs from January 2021 to October 15.

He said March recorded the highest number of job losses in the state at 111 individuals while the manufacturing sector recorded the highest number of jobless workers at 191, followed by wholesale and retail (175) and lodging, food and beverages (81).

On today’s carnival, he said more than 3,800 job vacancies are on offer by 20 employers of various sectors on-site or online from today until tomorrow, for an expected participation of 1,000 job seekers including university graduates.

Wan Rosdy said to ensure out-station job seekers had online access to the job-matching programme, the state had disbursed and addition RM30,000 in funding for Socso to coordinate this at Community Internet Centres throughout the state.

For those interested, registration to participate in the Pahang Employment Carnival can be done at the website at https://bit.ly/KarnivalKerjayaMelaluiPIK202.

Earlier, Wan Rosdy had distributed ‘Bakul Prihatin infaq Aid’ (food baskets) to selected taxi drivers under Socso’s Self-employment Social Security Scheme (Act 789). — Bernama