The unemployment rate in Malaysia fell by 0.3% to 3.4% in August 2023, according to the latest data from Statistics Malaysia.

When compared to July 2023, the unemployment rate was unchanged.

In August 2023, the number of unemployed persons continued to trend down, registering a fall of 0.3% over the month to 577,3000 persons (July 2023: 579,200 persons). Over the year, the number of unemployed persons fell by 5.7%.

Meanwhile, the total number of employed persons stood at 16.35 million in August 2023, up 2.1% over the year and 0.1% over the month.

August’s employment-to-population ratio, which indicates the ability of an economy to create employment, stood at 67.7% as in the previous month. 

By economic sector, the number of employed persons in the services sector continued its upward trend, largely in wholesale & retail trade; food & beverage services; and transportation and storage activities. In addition, the manufacturing, agriculture, construction as well as mining & quarrying sectors also registered increases in the number of employed persons during the month.

In August 2023, the labour force strengthened further by 0.1% month-on-month to record 16.93 million persons. Over the year, the increase was 1.8%.

Meanwhile, August’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) held steady over the month at 70.1% as of July 2023 and up 0.4% over the year.

The number of persons outside the labour force during the month registered an addition of 0.1% over the month to 7.23 million persons (July 2023: 7.23 million persons), but fell 0.1% over the year.