Overview

• The number of employed persons further increased in September 2023 with a marginal rise of 0.1 per cent (+20.2 thousand persons) to record 16.38 million persons (August 2023: 16.35 million persons). During the month, the employment-to-population ratio, which indicates the ability of an economy to create employment, remained at 67.7 per cent as of August 2023.
  

• In terms of the economic sector, the Services sector continued to exhibit increases in the number of employed persons, especially in Wholesale & retail trade; Food & beverage services; and Transportation & storage activities. Similarly, the Manufacturing, Construction, Mining & quarrying and Agriculture sectors also witnessed an increase in the number of employed persons during the month.
  

• In September 2023, 75.3 per cent of the total employed persons were in the employees’ category. As compared to the previous month, this category recorded a slight increase of 0.1 per cent (+10.3 thousand persons), reaching a total of 12.33 million persons (August 2023: 12.32 million persons). A similar trend was also observed in the own-account workers, with an increase of 0.2 per cent (+7.4 thousand persons) to register 2.97 million persons (August 2023: 2.97 million persons).
  

• The number of unemployed persons declined further in September 2023 to record 573.7 thousand persons, reduced by 0.6 per cent (-3.6 thousand persons) as compared to 577.3 thousand persons in August 2023. The unemployment rate during the month stood at 3.4 per cent as in the previous month.
  

• The number of labour force continued to expand in September 2023, with a rise of 0.1 per cent (+16.7 thousand persons) to 16.95 million persons (August 2023: 16.93 million persons), registering 70.1 per cent of the labour force participation rate (LFPR) as recorded last month.
  

• The number of outside labour force in September 2023 went up by 0.1 per cent or 7.6 thousand persons to 7.24 million persons (August 2023: 7.23 million persons). The main reasons for being outside the labour force were due to housework/ family responsibilities (42.9%) and engaging in schooling/ training (40.3%).
  

The full publication of the Labour Force Report, September 2023 can be downloaded through eStatistik Portal.

Released by:

DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS MALAYSIA

08 NOVEMBER 2023

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Baharudin Mohamad

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