THE number of unemployed persons in May this year continued to decline, with a reduction of 1.8% to 637,700 persons, from 649,300 the previous month, according to the Statistics of Labour Force for May 2022 released by the Statistics Department today.

Chief statistician Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the labour force situation during the month remained resilient, registering a month-on-month increase in the number of labour force with 0.2% to record 16.54 million persons, from 16.5 million persons in April.

“Subsequently, the labour force participation rate in May increased marginally to 69.5%, from 69.4% the previous month. This situation was steered by steady employment growth,” he said in a statement today.

He said the number of employed persons ascended further in May by 0.3% to record 15.9 million persons, from 15.85 million in April, with the largest composition of employed persons, involving 76.2%, in the employee’s category.

“This category posted a rise of 0.2% to record 12.11 million persons compared with the previous month, which was 12.09 million,” he added.

He said the own-account workers consisting mostly of daily income earners, such as retailers, hawkers, sellers in market and stalls, as well as smallholders, also improved with an addition of 0.7% to record 2.74 million persons in May, compared with 2.72 million the previous month.

According to Uzir, the recovery of the labour market in May continued to be stable, aligned with full operation of all economic activities.

“This encouraging economic activities during the month stimulated more demand for goods and services, thus providing more opportunities for businesses to revive their revenue,” he added.

In the economic sector, he said the services sector continued to record a positive growth in employment, especially in wholesales and retail trade, information and communication, as well as food and beverage. – Bernama, July 7, 2022.