KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 — Malaysia’s manufacturing sales posted the highest ever growth of 72.5 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM130.6 billion in April 2021, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

On a monthly basis, the sales value increased by 2.9 per cent, said chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

"The sharp increment of growth in April 2021 was also a reflection of recovery due to base effect from the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) 1.0 last year," he said in a statement on the Monthly Manufacturing Statistics April 2021.

The increase he said was driven by transport equipment & other manufactures products (332.4 per cent), electrical & electronics products (80.2 per cent), and petroleum, chemical, rubber & plastic products (49.1 per cent). 

Total employees engaged in the manufacturing sector in April 2021 were 2,235,004 persons, an increase of 3.0 per cent as compared to 2,169,473 persons in April 2020.

On salaries and wages paid, it amounted to RM7.38 billion, an increase of 8.2 per cent or RM560.2 million in April 2021 compared with the same month of the preceding year.

Simultaneously, the sales value per employee rose by 67.4 per cent to RM58,454 as compared with the same month in 2020.

Meanwhile, the average salaries and wages per employee was RM3,304 in April 2021, he said.

On a different note, Mohd Uzir said the Malaysia Population and Housing Census 2020 is being conducted nationwide until June 30, 2021.

He urged all Malaysian residents to cooperate in realising the success of the census. — Bernama