Job market expected to strengthen further in 2023, 2024

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's labour market is expected to strengthen further in 2023 and 2024, backed by the positive impetuses in the domestic economy, MIDF Research said.

It said the average unemployment rate is expected to decline further to 3.5 per cent in 2023 and return to pre-pandemic levels of 3.3 per cent in 2024.

"The return of non-citizen workers is expected to boost overall employment and reduce the jobless rate," it said in a note today.

As of the first quarter of 2023, non-citizens' employment was 4.4 per cent lower than the pre-pandemic level.

For the first half of 2023 (1H 2023), employment grew by 2.7 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) compared with an expansion of 3.5 per cent y-o-y in 1H 2022, while unemployment eased by 10.4 per cent y-o-y (1H 2022: 14.8 per cent) with jobless rate averaging at 3.5 per cent.

Malaysia's unemployment rate hit a new post-pandemic low at 3.4 per cent in June 2023.

Labour force and employment expanded by 1.9 per cent y-o-y and 2.3 per cent y-o-y respectively in June, supported by upbeat domestic economic momentum.

"Continued improvement in the labour market will support consumer spending as the wage recipients to employment ratio reached a new peak of 64.5 per cent back in 2021, among others, thanks to the minimum wage salary policy," it noted.

-- BERNAMA