Chief Statistician Uzir Mahidin said the sector’s headcount was up by 1% to a total of 2.37 million, while salaries and wages grew by 1.3% to RM49.3 billion.

“Sales value per employee was RM388,904, a 2.7% growth,” he said in the June manufacturing statistics report released today.

The second quarter of 2024 (Q2 2024) registered sales of RM464.2 billion, reflecting a growth of 5.7% (Q1 2024: 1.8%), which was attributed to the electrical and electronics products (7.3%) and the food, beverages and tobacco (8.2%) sub-sectors.

“Furthermore, the number of employees and salaries and wages paid during the quarter went up by 1% (Q1 2024: 0.5%) and 1.4% (Q1 2024: 1.2%), respectively,” he added.

Uzir said sales for the sector remained on steady growth with a 5.9% rise to reach RM156.1 billion in June 2024, primarily driven by the electrical and electronic products sub-sector, which grew by 7.1% after registering a 12.2% growth in May 2024.

“The growth was also supported by the food, beverages and tobacco sub-sector, with an increase of 8.6%; and non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products, which rose by 11.1%.

“On a month-on-month basis, the sales value grew by 0.8% from RM154.9 billion in May 2024,” he said.

He said sales value for the export-oriented industries, which accounted for 73.1%, continued to expand at a faster pace of 6% in June 2024 (May 2024: 4.6%), while domestic-oriented industries grew a modest 5.5% (May 2024: 7.9%) due to a 5.2% decline in the sales of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers.

“There were 2.37 million employees in the manufacturing sector in June 2024, a 1% increase compared to 0.9% in May 2024.

“Salaries and wages rose by 1.8% to RM8.2 billion in June 2024,” Uzir added.