KUALA LUMPUR (June 10): Malaysia's average unemployment rate is projected to hold steady at 3.3% for 2024, according to MIDF Research, which anticipates continued strengthening of the country's labour market in the upcoming months.

The encouraging labour market outlook is underpinned by a robust domestic economy and continued recovery in external trade, MIDF Research said in a note on Monday.

"As of the first four months of 2024, Malaysia's average jobless rate is 3.3%, down from 3.4% in 2023, while the labour force rose by 1.7% year-on-year (y-o-y) and employment also improved by 1.9% y-o-y," the research house said.

MIDF Research also expects the return of non-citizen workers to boost overall employment and reduce the jobless rate. However, it flagged downside risks to the labour market, including a weaker-than-expected external trade recovery and a nosedive in global commodity prices.

Earlier on Monday, the Department of Statistics Malaysia announced that Malaysia's unemployment rate stood at 3.3% in April, unchanged since November 2023. The number of unemployed individuals was marginally lower at 566,400 compared with March’s total of 566,600.

The number of employed individuals also climbed further, edging up 0.1% month-on-month to 16.56 million from 16.53 million in March. The labour force expanded by 0.1% to 17.12 million individuals from February’s 17.1 million.

The labour force participation rate stood at 70.3% in April. Of the total workforce, 75.1% were in the employee category, which ticked up 0.1% to 12.43 million individuals in April.

Own-account workers — individuals who operate their own farm or business, or trade on a full-time basis without employing any paid workers — climbed 0.3% to 3.04 million people in April.

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