Malaysian labour force increases 0.7 per cent in 1Q18
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian labour force increased 0.7 per cent to 15.19 million persons in the first quarter 2018 as compared to 15.09 million in the previous quarter.
In a statement, the Statistics Department said the labour force participation rate ( LFPR) in the first quarter of 2018 was 68.2 per cent, up 0.2 of a percentage point over the fourth quarter 2017, with another 31.8 per cent of the working age population outside it.
“Meanwhile, the unemployment rate decreased 0.1 of a percentage point to 3.3 per cent in the first quarter 2018. Year- on-year, the number of persons in the labour force and employed persons grew 2.2 and 2.3 per cent respectively, while the number of unemployed persons decreased 1.0 per cent.
“The unemployment rate in the first quarter 2018 dropped 0.2 of a percentage point as compared with the same quarter of the previous year. The participation rate of the labour force in the labour market also improved 0.5 of a percentage point,” it added.
Female LFPR rose 0.3 of a percentage point to 55.1 per cent in the first quarter 2018, with those aged 25- 34 at 74.4 per cent, 35- 44 years (66.3 per cent) and 45- 54 years (58.3 per cent).
Male LFPR also increased to 80.3 per cent during the period under review, with those aged 35- 44 and 45- 54 years recording an increase of 0.4 of a percentage point to 97.6 per cent and 93.8 per cent respectively.