Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said the November figures indicate positive economic growth, with a continuous increase in employed persons and a decline in unemployment.

“The labour force in November 2023 increased by 0.2% month-on-month to 17 million persons from 16.97 million persons in October,” he said in a statement.

The number of employed persons in November also rose by 0.2%, totalling 16.43 million people compared to October’s 16.40 million. Concurrently, the number of unemployed individuals decreased by 0.3% to 569,200.

Of the employed persons, 75.3% were in the employees’ category, showing a slight increase of 0.1% to 12.37 million individuals. Own-account workers also increased by 0.3% to 2.99 million.

Employment in the services sector, particularly in information and communications, food and beverage services, and transportation and storage activities, saw growth.

Similarly, the manufacturing, construction, and mining and quarrying sectors also reported increases in employed persons in November 2023, while the agriculture sector recorded a decline.

Uzir highlighted that unemployed individuals who are actively seeking jobs comprised 79.9% of total unemployed persons, dropping by 0.6% to 454,500 individuals. For actively unemployed individuals, 61.8% had been unemployed for less than three months, and 6.3% faced long-term unemployment for over a year.

He added that despite global challenges, Malaysia’s diversified economic structure and strong fundamentals contributed to stable economic growth. The upcoming holiday season is expected to further boost the economy, especially in the tourism sector.

Uzir said the 2023 floods, which impacted several states in Malaysia, is unlikely to significantly affect the overall labour market.

He also said the country’s labour market is expected to remain robust in the coming months, aligned with the nation’s growing economic performance.