Malaysia's labour force grew 1.9% in Q3 2019

Malaysia's labour force saw a growth of 1.9% in Q3 2019, recording a total of 15.67mn people, up from 15.38mn in Q3 2018. The country also saw a 2.1% increase in the number of employed persons, at 15.16mn this year (Q3 2018: 14.86mn).

By a quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) analysis, the Department of Statistics Malaysia's Principle Statistics of Labour Force report showed a 0.5% and 0.6% rise in the labour force and number of employed persons respectively, from Q2 to Q3 this year.

On the other hand, while there was a 2.3% drop in the number of unemployed people in Q3 (512.1mn), the unemployment rate in the country still remained at 3.3%.

Female labour force participation rate increases 0.2pp

Apart from the above, the report also revealed a growth of 0.2 percentage points (pp) in female labour force participation rate (LFPR) q-o-q, standing at 56% on the national level.

When broken down into age groups, (defined by the International Labour Organisation as age 25 to 54 years) the data showed that 73.6% of those aged 25 to 34 were in the labour market. At the same time, 69.4% of women aged 35 to 44 participated, as well as 60.1% of those aged 45 to 54.

In total, women made up 39.2% of the labour force (6.15mn) while men made up 60.8% (9.53mn). Both genders saw an increase by 38,900 and 36,600 respectively, from the previous quarter.

 

 

Key statistics: September 2019

In September alone, Malaysia's labour force participation rate increased 0.1pp to reach 68.7%, a 0.2pp growth from September 2018 (68.5%). In total, there were 15.75mn people in the labour force in that month, increase from 15.23mn in Q3 2018.

 

 

Lead image and infographics / DOSM