PUTRAJAYA, Nov 18 — Malaysia’s labour productivity, measured by value-added per employment, fell 5.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2021 (Q3 2021) with a productivity value of RM21,985 per person compared to RM22,128 per person in the previous quarter (Q2 2021).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin in a statement today following the release of the Labour Productivity, Third Quarter 2021 report, said during the quarter, employment increased modestly with a total of 15.3 million persons compared to 15.2 million in Q2 2021.

In Q3 2021, Malaysia’s economy recorded a contraction, declining by 4.5 per cent attributed to the downturn in all the major economic sectors, he said.

"The total hours worked in Q3 2021 dropped by 3.9 per cent to record 8.2 billion hours compared to 8.5 billion hours in Q3 2020.

"During this quarter, the total hours worked was lower as against a year ago following stricter containment measures imposed including limited business operation hours, particularly in the first phase of the National Recovery Plan,” he said.

The labour productivity per hour worked in Q3 2021 registered a mild decline of 0.6 per cent with a value of RM40.9 per hour compared to RM40.5 per hour in Q2 2021, according to the statement.

"From the economic sector point of view, all sectors experienced negative performance of labour productivity by value-added per employment in this quarter,” said Mohd Uzir.

"The construction sector posted the biggest drop in labour productivity by 18.8 per cent compared to the previous quarter, while the services sector recorded a decline of 6.2 per cent from the previous quarter with the largest decrease recorded by the food & beverage and accommodation sectors,” he said.

On the labour productivity by value-added per hour worked, Mohd Uzir said two sectors had turned around in the quarter, namely, mining and quarrying and manufacturing while the remaining sectors continued to decrease albeit smaller. — Bernama