Data Highlights

• The labour market sustained its positive momentum, witnessing a consistent increase in employment across the country. Employment growth marked 1.9% YoY and 0.1% MoM rise April 2024, resulting in a total workforce of 16.56mn individuals.

• By economic sector, the Services sector continued to record a rise in the number of employed persons, mainly in the Information & communication, Food & beverage services and Transportation & storage activities. A similar trend in the number of employed persons was also observed in the Manufacturing, Construction, Mining & quarrying sectors, as well as the Agriculture sector during the month.

• The largest composition of employed persons remained in the ‘Employees’ category, comprising 75.1% of all employed individuals. This category saw an annual increase of 1.3%, equating to 154.6k new employees, bringing the total to approximately 12.43mn individuals. Similarly, the ownaccount workers category displayed a similar upward trend, with a YoY increase of 4.1% reaching a total of 3.04mn persons during the month, up from 2.92mn persons in April last year.

• Meantime, the number of unemployed persons continued its decline, decreasing by 3.4% YoY to 566.4k individuals (Mar24: 586.9k persons) which gradually approaching the pre-pandemic levels of 519k in 2019. On a monthly basis, the number of unemployed persons decreased by 0.1%. During the month, the jobless rate stood at 3.3%, the same rate seen in the previous month.

• The labour force (encompassing both employed and unemployed individuals) saw MoM expansion of 0.1% MoM or a YoY growth of 1.7% in January 2024, reaching a total of 17.12mn individuals. This growth suggests a healthy level of engagement in the labour market, with a labour force participation rate of 70.3%.

• Meanwhile, the number of individuals outside the labour force remained relatively stable on an annual basis, where there was a minimal MoM increase of 0.01%, totaling 7.23mn persons. Among those outside the labour force, 42.7% cited housework and family responsibilities as their primary reason for not participating in the labour market, followed closely by schooling and training at 41.4%.

• Our perspective: We expect the labour market to continue its improved performance, driven by favourable domestic economic conditions and a recovery in external demand. Projections indicate a decrease in the jobless rate to 3.2% by year end. Forecasts also suggest that both the labour force and employment figures will rise by 1.7% and 2.0%, respectively. Concurrently, unemployment is anticipated to drop by 5.2% throughout the year.

Source: TA Research - 11 Jun 2024