KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 14): The number of jobs in the economic sector increased by 1.5% to 8.96 million in the second quarter of 2024, according to Employment Statistics released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) on Wednesday.

In a statement, DOSM said the employment statistics for the period was based on an employment survey conducted on registered businesses in the private sector.

The report presented labour demand statistics, encompassing the number of jobs, filled jobs, jobs vacancy and jobs created indicators by skills category and economic activity.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increase in the number of jobs aligned with the unemployment rate, which remained stable at 3.3 %.

“The trend is foreseen to remain stable until the end of this year, subsequent to a strong domestic economy and recovering external trade.

“Looking ahead, an increase in the export performance is anticipated, along with potential investments coming into the country that will create more jobs,” he said.

On the number of jobs filled, he said a consistent upward trend reflected the progress of the current economic climate, and this stability was also evident in the positive year-on-year growth across all economic sectors for this quarter.

Mohd Uzir said the manufacturing sector contributed 33.9% to job creation, adding some 10,800 new jobs predominantly in the electrical, electronic and optical products sub-sector, while the construction sector contributed 11.6%, equivalent to some 3,700 jobs created.

He further said that labour demand will remain stable throughout 2024, with positive hiring trends driven by sturdy growth in the services sector.

“This indication was also supported by the ongoing positive momentum in the domestic economy and a recovery in global trade, particularly in the manufacturing sector,” he said, adding that this was in line with the increase in employed individuals by 1.2% as reported in the statistics.

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