PUTRAJAYA: The number of unemployed persons declined to 600.9 thousand persons, recording an unemployment rate of 3.6%, according to the Statistics Department (DOSM).
“In November 2022, the labour market further strengthened in line with the development of current economic activities. Thus, the labour force situation continued to expand during the month, with a continuous increase in the number of employed persons while the number of unemployed persons decreased,” chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in a statement.
“Therefore, the number of labour force remained increasing in November 2022, with an addition of 0.2% month-on-month to 16.71 million persons (October 2022: 16.68 million persons), while the labour force participation rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to register 69.8% (October 2022: 69.7%),” he added.
At the same time, the number of employed persons continued to increase by 0.2% month-on-month to 16.11 million persons (October 2022: 16.08 million persons).
In November 2022, the number of persons outside labour force continued to decline with a reduction of 1.6 thousand persons (-0.02%) to 7.24 million persons (October 2022: 7.24 million persons).
DOSM said housework/ family responsibilities were the main reasons for the outside labour force with 43.1%, followed by schooling/ training with 41.3%.
In terms of economic sector, the services sector continued to register positive growth in the number of employed persons, particularly in wholesale and retail trade; food & beverage services and information and communication activities.
In the meantime, the manufacturing, construction and agriculture sectors also posted increases in the number of employed persons, while employment in the mining & quarrying sector recorded a rise for the first time since July 2020.
“The continuous operation of all economic and social activities until the end of 2022 has enabled the country's economy to continue to grow rapidly.
“In this regard, the labour market is also expected to continue to maintain its recovery momentum towards a more stable labour market and be more favourable in line with the current positive economic developments, especially in early 2023,” Mohd Uzir said.
