In the latest unemployment statistics by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), more than 826,100 individuals have been unemployed since May, which is equivalent to an increase of 5.3 percent.
According to the Chief Statistician of DOSM, Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin in a social media statement, the unemployment rate has increased by 0.3 percent every month, after the record 5 percent of total unemployment rate in April.
“Meanwhile, the number of unemployed individuals at 826,100 was an increase of 47,300 from 778,800 in the same duration,” he added. “There is an addition of 306,300 unemployed individuals annually.”
The enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in late March due to the outbreak of COVID-19 saw the spike of unemployment rate by 17.1 percent in that month itself, which was equivalent to 610,500 more compared to the same duration last year.
The most negatively affected sectors are tourism and consumerism, especially during the last fortnight of March when MCO started.
Rosli Mansor
