KUALA LUMPUR (April 8): Malaysia’s unemployment rate remained steady in February as the number of people without jobs fell while the workforce expanded, official data on Monday showed.

Unemployment rate stood at 3.3% in February, unchanged since November 2023, the Department of Statistics said in a statement. The number of unemployed persons, meanwhile, was marginally lower at 567,000 compared to January’s total of 567,300.

Most economic sectors are anticipated to expand in 2024, with the services and manufacturing sectors as key drivers of overall growth, said Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

Robust domestic demand on the back of resilient household spending during the upcoming festive season is also expected to support hiring activities, he said. The labour market is expected to continue to grow in the following months, supported by continued demand for employment, Mohd Uzir added.

The number of employed persons increased further, with a month-on-month rise of 0.2% to 16.51 million persons from January’s 16.48 million persons, and the labour force edged up 0.1% to a total of 17.07 million persons. Labour force participation rate stood at 70.2%, unchanged when compared to January.

Out of the total employed persons in February, 75.2% were in the employees' category, which recorded a slight increase of 0.1% to 12.41 million persons in February.

Own-account workers — individuals who operate their own farm or business, or trade on a full-time basis without employing any paid workers — were up 0.3% to 3.02 million in February.