The unemployment rate in Malaysia stood at 3.5% in March, down by 0.6% from a year earlier, according to the latest statistics from the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

When compared to February 2023, the unemployment rate remained unchanged in March.

In March, the number of unemployed persons continued to decrease over the month, falling by 0.5% to 588,700 persons. When compared to the same period a year ago, the number of unemployed persons fell by 12.0%.

The number of employed persons was on an upward trend, increasing by 0.2% (+33,700 persons) in March and reaching a total of 16.22 million persons, compared to 16.19 million persons in February.  Over the year, it increased by 2.9%.

The number of labour force in March strengthened further over the month by 0.2% (+30,500 persons) to 16.81 million persons (February: 16.78 million persons). Over the year, it increased by 2.3%.

Meanwhile, March’s labour force participation rate stood at 69.9%, unchanged over the month, and up 0.7% over the year.