.jpg "nPenang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow speaks to the press at Komtar, George Town November 18, 2020. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Sayuti Zainudinn")
GEORGE TOWN, Nov 18 — Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said a total of 9,891 people have lost their jobs in Penang between January 1 and November 13 this year.
The Penang lawmaker, who quoted the figure from the Ministry of Human Resources, said the state has its Penang Career Assistance and Talent Centre (CAT) as a point of contact for jobseekers and employers.
“In June this year, the Penang Youth Development Corporation set up its career search portal to help people, especially the youth, find jobs,” he said when announcing the launch of two new digital platforms.
He said there are 5,485 job vacancies in the state as of June 30, based on a report by Jobs Malaysia Centre (JMC).
He added that Penang is expecting an inflow of RM8.42 billion in foreign direct investments for the first half of this year, which will generate 6,791 new jobs in Penang.
Chow said there are now two new digital platforms to help provide thousands of people with more job opportunities.
“The two new job portals, operatorpengeluaran.my and technicians.my, are built for manufacturing operators and technicians and for the industry to find the right people for these jobs,” he said.
According to Deputy Chief Minister II P. Ramasamy, 324 people lost their jobs in November this year.
He said there was no major unemployment in Penang as the rate was only between 4 and 5 per cent as opposed to a prediction of an unemployment rate of 10 to 11 per cent.
He said the unemployment rate peaked in June this year and has since tapered off.
He said Penang has an ecosystem with high-end investments coming in to provide job opportunities in the state.
