DoSM said the decline was mainly influenced by the deterioration in food, beverages and tobacco (12.7%); transport equipment and other manufactures (4.9%); and petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastics (3.1%) sub-sectors.
“In comparison with the previous month, the sales value returned to a decline with -7.2% against an increase of 7.6% registered in March 2023,” it said.
According to the department, the sales value of export-oriented industries which accounted for 71.5% of total sales recorded a decrease of 3.4% in April 2023 after registering positive momentum since May 2020.
“The contraction was weighed down mainly by the manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats (-23.2%); manufacture of rubber products (-14.2%); and manufacture of plastics products (-7.1%) industries.
“Nonetheless, the domestic-oriented industries maintained a positive trend with a growth of 1.6% in April y-o-y, primarily underpinned by the manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment (5.5%); manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products (4.6%); and the manufacture of food processing products (3.4%) industries.
“In comparison with the previous month, both export and domestic-oriented industries lessened by 7.2%,” it added.
Meanwhile, DoSM highlighted a total of 2.35 million persons engaged in the manufacturing sector in April, which increased by 2.5% against 2.29 million persons registered a year ago.
“The increase was supported mainly by the food, beverages and tobacco products (5.6%); electrical and electronic products (4.2%); and wood, furniture, paper products and printing (2.7%) sub-sectors.
“Compared to the preceding month, the number of employees in this sector edged down by 0.1%,” said the department.
In tandem with the increase in employees, DoSM said the salaries and wages paid in the manufacturing sector went up by 3.9% y-o-y, amounting to RM8.02 billion in April.
The average monthly salaries and wages per employee in April were higher by 1.4% y-o-y at RM3,413 while the sales value per employee decreased by 4.4% y-o-y to RM61,716, it said.