PUTRAJAYA: The number of unemployed persons in July this year has decreased by 0.4 percent to 579,200 persons compared to 581,700 persons last month, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin in a statement issued following the release of the Statistics of the Labour Force, Malaysia, July 2023, said the unemployment rate in July 2023 stood at 3.4 percent, unchanged from the previous month.

Mohd Uzir said the number of the labour force in July this year improved by 0.2 percent to register 16.34 million persons compared to 16.31 million in June.

“The labour force participation rate edged up 0.1 percentage points to 70.1 percent (June 2023: 70.0 percent) indicating more labour participation in the market,” he said.

Based on the economic sector, Mohd Uzir said the increase in the number of employed persons in the services sector persisted largely in food and beverages services, wholesale and retail trade and education activities.

“Likewise, the number of employed persons in the construction and mining and quarrying sectors also remained on a positive trend, while the manufacturing and agriculture sectors recorded marginal declines during the month,” he said.

Mohd Uzir said said the number of persons outside the labour force in July 2023 recorded a marginal decline of 0.01 percent to 7.23 million persons compared with 7.23 million in June.

Meanwhile, he said the country’s labour force position is expected to remain positive and expand moderately in the upcoming month as Malaysia’s short-term economic outlook is anticipated to moderate in the future months.

“It is in line with the positive business expectations for the third quarter of 2023, which are supported by the stability of the job market, the increase in domestic tourism and more optimistic prospects in the health tourism industry,” he added. – Bernama