Widespread joblessness raise unemployment rate to 610,500
PUCHONG: The number of unemployed in the country continued to increase to 610,500 people in March 2020 compared with 521,300 the same period last year as a result of the negative impact of the Movement Control Order (MCO) on the labor market.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the unemployment rate in March 2020 rose to 3.9 per cent, the highest since June 2010 (3.6 per cent).
He said the number of laborers in March 2020 fell 0.2 percent to 15.84 million people as of February 2020. “The working population in March 2020 is 15.23 million people, out of which, 2.81 million are self-employed such as small-scale traders or entrepreneurs.
“They are exposed to the risk of unemployment and job loss that could affect income during the MCO period. “This is because some are unable to work and run their businesses,” he said in his Facebook post (DrUzir Mahidin) today.
This information is obtained from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) which is carried out to collect information on the structure and distribution of labor, employment and unemployment.
The concepts and definitions used in LFS are in accordance with the standards set by the International Labour Organizations (ILO) through ‘Manual on Concepts and Methods: Surveys of Economically Active Population, Employment, Unemployment and Underemployment’ adopted by all countries.
The LFS covers both urban and rural areas of the state of Malaysia through the interview method with respondents. The survey population includes residents living in private residences and excluding those living in institutions such as hotels, hostels, hospitals, prisons, boarding houses and workers living in shared homes.
The survey covers the active and inactive population of the economy. To measure the population active in the economy, the LFS uses the age limit of 15 to 64 years.
On the other hand, the economically active population consists of those who work and are unemployed, while those who are inactive are classified as out of labor. LFS uses the actual standard approach in which a person is classified based on his or her activity in the labor force during the reference week.
