KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian labour market is expected to continue benefiting from a further rise in tourism activities and its positive spill-over effect on tourism sectors.  

This includes wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage, accommodation, and the implementation of national projects, according to Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB). 

"The improving global trade environment and implementation of foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the pipeline could also lead to better employment conditions in the export-oriented sectors," it said in a note. 

HLIB added that the government will also be launching the National Human Resource Policy Framework in May, which will include guidelines and strategies for implementing future human capital development programmes.

The framework is expected to help achieve the target of a 35 per cent skilled workforce by 2030, compared to 27.9 per cent in 2023. 

The country's labour market landscape observed continued improvement in February amid stable domestic demand and a continued uptick in tourist arrivals and spending.  

The decline in the number of unemployed persons continued both on a month-on-month (MoM) basis, at 0.1 per cent compared to January's 0.1 per cent, and on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, at 4.2 per cent versus 4.8 per cent in January. 

However, this decline occurred at a slower pace. 

Following this, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.3 per cent in February, the same rate as in the previous month. 

In terms of unemployment duration, the share of those unemployed for less than three months stood at 61.6 per cent, slightly down from 61.7 per cent in January. 

The percentage of individuals unemployed for six to less than 12 months decreased to 10.9 per cent, compared to 11 per cent in January. 

However, the share of those unemployed for longer durations, more than one year, saw a slight increase to 6.7 per cent from 6.5 per cent in January. 

Meanwhile, employment maintained a steady expansion, with a month-on-month (MoM) increase of 0.2 per cent, the same as in January, and a year-on-year (YoY) growth rate of two percent, also unchanged from January. 

Growth was underpinned by higher employment across all sectors; services, manufacturing, construction, mining, and agriculture.  

In the services sector, the upward trend in employment mainly stemmed from wholesale and retail trade services, food and beverage services, as well as transportation and storage activities.  

Similarly, the labour force also recorded steady expansion at 0.1 per cent both a MoM and YoY basis, supported by continued labour demand and positive economic momentum. 

Following this, the labour force participation rate also inched higher to 70.3 per cent during the month, compared to 70.2 per cent in January. 

Separately, the Social Security Organisation (Socso) reported a decrease in loss of employment (LOE) in February to 3,700, down from 5,800 in January. 

This decline was mainly concentrated in the manufacturing, construction, wholesale, and retail industries. 

https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2024/04/1036761/tourism-sector-growth-benefit-job-market