M’sia sustains labour productivity growth in Q4

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s labour productivity sustained its positive growth trend in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2018, with productivity measured by value added per hour worked expanding 2.7 per cent.

This resulted from a 4.7 per cent growth in value added, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Darell Leiking said in a statement yesterday.

However,theaveragehoursworked shrank by 0.5 per cent during the quarter under review, he said. Value added per person employed registered a 2.2 per cent rise.

The productivity was measured by added value per hour worked by all persons, including employees, proprietors, and unpaid family workers.

Across five main economic sectors, the construction sector recorded the highest growth in productivity per hour worked at 5.2 per cent, followed by services (3.7 per cent), manufacturing (2.5 per cent), and mining and quarrying (2.3 per cent). The agriculture sector, however, contracted by 0.3 per cent.

Darell said the highest labour productivity performance in the construction sector was mainly contributed by the 2.6 per cent growth in value added while the average hour worked shortened by 0.5 per cent.

In the services sector, the labour productivity grew by 3.7 per cent due to the higher growth in the information and communication sub-sector (8.7 per cent), followed by wholesale and retail trade sub-sectors (6.6 per cent), and real estate and business services (0.2 per cent).

As for manufacturing sector, the labour productivity growth remained driven by the transport equipment, other manufacturing and repair sub-sector (7.0 per cent); wood products, furniture, paper products and printing sub-sector (4.7 per cent); and non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal sub-sector (3.4 per cent).

Meanwhile, Malaysia’s labour productivity per person employed grew by 2.2 per person in Q4 2018 due to the growth in value added at 4.7 per cent, while employment grew at 2.4 per cent.

Darell said there was a need for continuous improvement in labour efficiency, innovation, automation and the diffusion of new and updated production methods in order to foster economic growth and development in Malaysia.

He said the introduction of the National Policy on Industry 4.0 or Industry4WRD by his ministry, encouraged development in innovative capacity and the capability of the manufacturing sector as well as related services to create Malaysia’s own technologies, products and services.