• Employment decelerated to 1.3% yoy

• The number of unemployed persons increased 17.1% yoy

• Labor force moderated to 1.8% yoy

• Labor force participation rate down to 68.6%

• Unemployment rate jumped 3.9% in March

• 1Q20 unemployment rate rises to 3.5%

• Labour force and employed persons recorded a growth of 1.7% and 1.6% respectively in 1Q20

• Unemployment rate to increase further on MCO and Covid-19 impact

The labour force moderated to 1.8% yoy in March, the lowest recorded since December 2016. The number of labour force in March decreased 0.2% to 15.84m persons as compared to February 2020. During the same period, employed persons also decreased 0.7% or 112.1k jobs to 15.23m persons. On yearly basis employment only grew by 1.3% as compared to 2.1% yoy in February. The labour force participation rate (LFPR) declined 0.1 percentage points from 68.7% in February to 68.6% in March after recorded the highest LFPR in January (68.9%).

The number of unemployed accounted for 611,000 persons in March, increased 16.2% mom and 17.1% yoy, resulting in an increase in its jobless rate to 3.9%, after 28 months of being below the 3.5% mark. The unemployment rate was also the highest since June 2010. Unemployment rate (seasonally adjusted) in March also increased to 3.9% as compared to 3.3% in the previous month.

Source: BIMB Securities Research - 12 May 2020