PUTRAJAYA: The reopening of several more economic sectors has seen the unemployment rate for August going down by 4.6% from 778,200 people in July to 748,800.

       A report released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia also showed that the number of employed people has risen by 0.5% month-on-month to a record 15.38 million people in August from 15.29 million persons in July, with employment-to-population ratio up by 0.2 percentage points to 65.2%.

       The numbers in the labour force continued to increase for the second month by 0.3% to 16.13 million persons in August 2021 from 16.07 million persons in July 2021, while the labour force participation rate during the month improved by 0.1 percentage points to 68.4% from 68.3% in July 2021, it said.

       Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the encouraging labour force situation was observed in August 2021 as more economic activities were permitted to resume in compliance with preventive measures to curb the spread of Covid-19.

       “This was indicated by the rise in employment while unemployment decreased during the month,” he said.

       Mohd Uzir said although there would continue to be challenges in the upcoming months due to the uncertain public health situation, the implementation of the National Recovery Plan had allowed for a safe reopening of the economy.

       “The encouraging economic performance may increase labour demand including the creation of more job opportunities. Therefore, the reviving of the economy and the labour market is foreseen in stages in the coming months,” he added. — Bernama