Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said the stability reflected the continued growth of the economy. He said the labour force went up by 0.1% to 17.12 million in April from 17.10 million in March, with a participation rate of 70.3%.

“The number of employed persons in April continued to record increases, with month-on-month growth of 0.1% to 16.56 million compared with the previous month’s 16.53 million.

“The employees category formed 75.1% of total employed persons, rising by 0.1% to 12.43 million, while the number of own-account workers grew by 0.3% to 3.04 million,” he said in a statement.

Uzir said the services sector saw an increase in employment, particularly in information and communications, food and beverage services, and transportation and storage sectors. Employment also grew in the manufacturing, construction, mining and quarrying, and agriculture sectors.

Uzir said 79.7% of the unemployed were actively seeking jobs. Of these, 61.7% had been jobless for less than three months, while 6.7% had been unemployed for more than a year.

Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate, involving those aged 15 to 24, remained at 10.6%, with 305,900 not working. The unemployment rate for youths aged 15 to 30 on the other hand was 6.5%, with 434,900 unemployed.

As of April, the number of people outside the labour force saw a slight increase to 7.23 million, primarily due to housework and family responsibilities (42.7%) and schooling or training (41.4%).

Uzir said the economy was expected to improve in the coming months, with more domestic spending, tourism activity, and job creation.

“Stronger public sector investment and progress in infrastructure development under the 12th Malaysia Plan will lead to more job opportunities, encouraging more people to enter the labour market,” he said.