Malaysia's unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.8% in February 2021

Bernama April 8, 2021

PUTRAJAYA (April 8): Malaysia's unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.8% in February 2021 from 4.9% in January, the Statistics of Labour Force in Malaysia for February 2021 showed.

It also showed that the number of unemployed persons declined by 5,000 or 0.6% to 777,500 from 782,500 in January.

According to Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, the number of actively unemployed persons or persons who were available for work and were actively looking for jobs reduced by 9,800 to 647,400 in February from 657,200 in January.

"Those who were unemployed for less than three months accounted for 50.6% of the actively unemployed, while 11.3% of actively unemployed were in long-term unemployment of more than a year," he said in a statement today on the labour force situation in February 2021.

Mohd Uzir said the number of employed persons rose 33,300 month-on-month (m-o-m) to 15.27 million in February compared with 15.24 million in January, recording an upward trend for three consecutive months.

By economic sector, he said the number of employed persons in service sector continuously increased mainly in wholesale and retail trade, education, and human health as well as social work activities, while the tourism-related industry remained on a declining trend.

"Number of employed persons in the manufacturing and construction sectors stayed positive whereas the agriculture, as well as mining and quarrying sectors, recorded a reduction," he said.

As the number of employed persons continued to increase while the number of unemployed persons declined, the labour force increased marginally by 0.2% m-o-m to 16.05 million persons in February 2021 from 16.02 million persons in January, while labour force participation rate in February 2021 remained at 68.5%, he said.

Mohd Uzir said the employed persons who were temporarily not working during the month reduced to 150,800 in February compared with 158,900 in January 2021.

The employment-to-population ratio, which indicates the ability of an economy to create employment, remained stagnant at 65.2% in February 2021, he said.

On the overall labour force situation, Mohd Uzir said in spite of the extension of the Movement Control Order and continued interstate travel restrictions, things have been gradually improving since early March 2021.

In addition, he said the pre-primary and primary education sectors began to reopen in stages, benefitting school-related activities particularly school bus services, school canteens as well as stationery and book shops.

"This situation, coupled with the resumption of more economic activities since February 2021, may encourage more demand in the economy and, in turn, will have a positive impact on the labour market.

"With the continuous economic recovery path, the labour demand may continue to expand marginally and the labour supply remains competitive," he said.

Question

Based on the case study, what could be the reason why the number of employed people in the tourism-related industry is on a decline. Suggest measures how the unemployed people in this industry can be assisted. (100 marks)