• Employment grew by 2.4% yoy to reach new high of 14.99m

• The number of unemployed persons slowed to 1.7% yoy to 514,000

• Labor force moderated to 2.3% yoy to 15.50m

• Labor force participation rate was up to 68.5%

• Unemployment rate maintained at 3.3% in December and 4Q18

• Labor market is anticipated to remain robust in 2019

Employment grew by 2.4% yoy in December, slightly lower than 2.5% yoy growth in the previous month. Meanwhile, on monthly basis it expanded by 0.3%. The number of employments continuously recorded a new high value on monthly basis and was at the highest in December 2018 as it reached 14.99m persons. Jobs added in December were recorded at 44.7k, ten times higher than previous month’s figure which stood at 4.2k. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed slowed to 1.7% yoy to 514,000 in December. Likewise, labour force moderated to 2.3% yoy to 15.50m in December from 2.5% in November. The labour force participation rate was up by 0.1 percentage point to 68.5% in December. However, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.3% yoy in December.

On quarterly basis, labour force grew by 2.4% yoy to 15.50m persons in the 4Q18 as compared to the 4Q17. The employed persons also rose by 2.4% yoy to 14.93m persons whilst the unemployed persons increased by 1.7% yoy in 4Q18. The unemployment rate was down by 0.1 percentage point to 3.3% in 4Q18 as compared to the 3Q18.

Source: BIMB Securities Research - 12 Feb 2019