MALAYSIA’S encouraging economic growth and stable labour market situation ensure the country’s economy remains on track, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said today.

Chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said Malaysia’s economy expanded by 14.2% in the third quarter of 2022 (Q3 2022), driven by encouraging performance in all economic sectors, primarily the services and manufacturing sectors.

“The growth is supported by the continued expansion in domestic demand, a firm recovery in the labour market and resilience in external demand.

“The lower base in the third quarter of the previous year also contributed to this growth,” he said in a statement following the release of the Malaysian Economic Statistics Review (MESR) Vol 11/2022.

Uzir said September 2022’s total trade rose by 31.4% (RM257 billion) compared with RM196 billion in September 2021.

Exports reached RM144 billion, an increase of 30.1%, while imports registered RM113 billion, a growth of 33% year-on-year.

“Trade balance increased by 20.9% (RM31.7 billion) from the previous year,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s total trade continued to rise with double digit growth in October 2022, rising 21.1% and reaching RM245 billion from RM202 billion in the preceding year, Uzir said.

Commenting on sectoral performances, the chief statistician said the industrial production index (IPI) for Q3 2022 showed double digit growth of 12.2% versus the same period last year.

He said the labour force continued to expand in Q3 2022, registering 16.4 million people, compared to 16 million in the previous corresponding quarter.

“Subsequently, the labour force participation rate (LFPR) increased by 1.1 percentage points to mark 69.4% over the same quarter of 2021 (68.3%).

“On the same note, the LFPR for this quarter posted above pre-pandemic levels and was the highest rate recorded since Q4 2019’s 69.1%,” he added.

Uzir said external factors remained the major challenges for the country, particularly in the rising prices due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis and shortage in production or supply chain caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

He said the leading index (LI) in September remained above 100 points, recording an increase of 0.3% or equivalent to 0.3 points, to register 109.9 points compared with 109.6 points in September 2021.

“Hence, Malaysia’s economy is expected to be on track despite the uncertainty of the global economy.

“In addition, business tendency statistics highlighted that the business situation remains upbeat in Q4 2022, with the confidence indicator continuing to register positive momentum by 3.2% after registering 4.7% in the third quarter of 2022,” he added. – Bernama, November 30, 2022.