A TOTAL of 293,639 workers lost their jobs from 2020 until Sept 27 this year, with the majority from the manufacturing sector comprising 75,615 individuals, says Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad.
The Deputy Human Resources Minister said the number includes 43,614 people in the wholesale and retail trade sectors, as well as professional, scientific and technical sectors (23,907).
It also involved another 19,931 individuals in the ICT sector, food and beverage, as well as accommodation (23,124), construction (21,233), transport (20,953), and other sectors (65,262).
Abdul Rahman was responding to Oscar Ling (PH-Sibu), who asked about skills training programmes offered by the ministry to improve a graduate’s marketability at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
He also cited statistics from the Social Security Organisation showing that, from January to Sept 27 of this year, the MYFutureJobs portal recorded 575,044 active job seekers, compared to 125,956 vacancies posted.
To address underemployment among new graduates and other local workers, Abdul Rahman said the ministry has introduced various programmes, such as the Training Programme under the Employment Insurance System, the Prospective Worker Training Scheme, and Industry 4.0-focused courses.
“The ministry is committed to ensuring that graduates and local workers are able to face economic challenges by having the required skills, especially in technology and Industry 4.0, which includes developing automation and artificial intelligence,” he said.
Meanwhile, Abdul Rahman said the minimum wage increase from RM1,500 to RM1,700 monthly, which will be enforced on Feb 1 next year, does not involve skilled and semi-skilled graduates.
He said it only applies to those with subordinate jobs, such as labour.
When tabling Budget 2025 in Parliament on Oct 18, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said employers with fewer than five workers will be given a six-month deferment period until Aug 1 next year.
