PUTRAJAYA, Dec 8 — The number of unemployed persons in October declined further by 0.5 per cent to record 570,900 persons compared to 573,700 in the previous month, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

In a statement on the Labour Force Statistics Malaysia, October 2023, the department said the country’s unemployment rate during the month remained at 3.4 per cent.

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the actively unemployed, or those who were available for work and were actively seeking jobs, represented 80.1 per cent of the total unemployed persons.

“This category decreased by 0.4 per cent to record 457,200 persons compared to 458,900 persons in the previous month.

“Among the actively unemployed, those who were unemployed for less than three months encompassed 61.6 per cent, while those who were in long-term unemployment for more than a year were 6.2 per cent.

“Similarly, those who believed that there were no jobs available or were inactively unemployed down by 0.9 per cent to register 113,800 persons compared to 114,800 in September,” he said.

Mohd Uzir said in October, the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 was 10.7 per cent or 313,300 persons compared to 10.6 per cent or 310,100 persons in the previous month.

He added that the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 30 declined by 0.1 per cent to 6.6 per cent or 439,600 persons, from 6.7 per cent or 440,000 in September.

Meanwhile, the number of persons outside the labour force decreased slightly by 0.02 per cent to 7.24 million in October.

“The largest composition of outside the labour force was due to housework or family responsibilities (42.6 per cent) and the schooling or training category (40.9 per cent),” he said.

Commenting on the overall performance for October 2023, Mohd Uzir said the labour market during the month further strengthened, reflecting the encouraging current economic activities, with a continuous increase in the number of employed persons, while unemployment was declining.

Therefore, the number of the labour force was on an upward trend during the month, with an addition of 0.1 per cent mont-to-month to register 16.97 million persons compared to 16.95 million persons in September 2023.

“The labour force participation rate in October 2023 remained unchanged at 70.1 per cent as in the previous month,” he said.

He also said that the number of employed persons in October 2023 increased by 0.2 per cent to 16.40 million compared to 16.38 million in September 2023.

According to Mohd Uzir, Malaysia’s economy is poised to navigate a healthier economic prospect in the future, with business confidence increasing, reflecting businesses continuing to grow.

He said this growth is underpinned by an improving labour market, burgeoning domestic demand, improving tourism activities and the implementation of infrastructure projects, which in turn may increase job opportunities.

“Therefore, the country’s labour force is anticipated to maintain steady growth momentum in the near term, albeit in a potentially challenging economic environment,” he said. — Bernama