MALAYSIA’S unemployment rate remained at 3.6% in December 2022, with the number of unemployed persons declining to 599,600 persons from 600,900 persons in November 2022, according to the Statistics of Labour Force, Malaysia, Fourth Quarter and December 2022 released today.

Chief Statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the number of people in the labour force in December increased by 0.1% to record 16.73 million persons compared to 16.71 million persons in November, while the labour force participation rate (LFPR) was at 69.8% compared to the previous month.

In a statement today, he said the number of employed persons remained on a positive trend, with a month-on-month increase of 0.1% to record 16.13 million persons in December 2022 compared to 16.11 million persons in November.

Uzir said the employees’ category made up the largest percentage of the total employed persons in December 2022, contributing 75.8% to register 12.23 million persons compared to 12.21 million persons in the previous month.

Likewise, the own-account worker’s category continued to increase, recording 2.86 million persons in December 2022 from 2.85 million persons in the previous month, he said.

On the employed persons by economic sector, Uzir said the services sector continued to record a positive growth in employment, largely in wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage services as well as information and communication.

The unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 24 years fell to 11.8% in December 2022, registering 331,000 thousand unemployed youths compared to 329,300 persons in the previous month, while the unemployment rate for youth aged 15 to 30 years decreased to 6.9% with 444,500 unemployed youths from 453,100 persons, he said.

As for the unemployment rate and LFPR by states, Uzir said most of the states posted a reduction in the unemployment rate except for Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca and Putrajaya.

He said the lowest unemployment rate during the quarter was in Putrajaya at 1.6%, followed by Perlis (2.2%), Penang (2.3%), Johor (2.4%) and Negri Sembilan (2.6%).

Nine states registered increases in LFPR, indicating higher labour participation in the market. The highest was observed in Putrajaya at 77.6%, followed by Selangor at 75.9% and Penang (71.8%), Sabah (70.6%) and Sarawak (69.8%). – Bernama, February 9, 2023.