Malaysia’s unemployment rate in April stood at 3.5 percent, while the number of unemployed persons reduced further to 586,900 from 588,700 in the previous month, official data showed Friday.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that Malaysia’s labor market remained stable in April, with a continuous increase in the number of labor force contributed by a surge in the number of employed persons and a further reduction in the number of unemployed.
According to the DOSM, the number of labor force in April continued to trend up from the previous month, with an addition of 0.2 percent recording 16.84 million persons.
Accordingly, the labor force participation rate edged up 0.1 percentage points to 70 percent, indicating more labor participation in the market.
The DOSM expects the labor market to grow modestly in the coming months as the Malaysian economy is projected to flourish moderately.
“Malaysia’s economy is expected to maintain its positive growth in 2023, albeit at a slower pace than in 2022,” it said.
According to the DOSM, this is supported by factors such as sustained domestic demand, improved labor market conditions, more stable inflation trends, and recovery of tourist arrivals, whereby encouraging tourism activity is expected to have a positive impact on the growth of the tourism sector and related industries.