October unemployment at lowest since start of pandemic

Unemployment in the country has dropped to its lowest since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, with only 602,000 individuals unemployed in October compared to 605,000 in September, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) says.

Head statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in a statement that the unemployment rate remained at 3.6%, 0.3% higher than the pre-pandemic rate of 3.3% in February 2020.

The number of workers continued to rise in October with a month-to-month increase of 0.2% to 16.68 million people compared with 16.66 million in September, while the workforce participation rate remained at 69.7%.

"The optimistic workforce performance in October 2022 reflects the country’s stable economic foundation, thanks to continued economic and social activities.

"This is reinforced by continuous policy support to overcome the effects of higher living costs and to reduce negative risk related to the geopolitical situation and the strengthening foreign financial standing," he said.

He said the largest category of workers were residential workers at 75.9%, with 12.20 million recorded in October compared to 12.18 million the month before.

On the unemployment situation in October, he said the number of active unemployed people dropped by 1.1% to 491,300 compared to 496,600 the month before, while inactive unemployed people rose by 2.1% to 110,700 from 108,400 in September.