PUTRAJAYA, May 23 — The national labour productivity in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024 grew by 1.9 per cent to record RM42 per hour compared to RM41.2 per hour in the same quarter last year.
According to the Labour Productivity Statistics, First Quarter 2024 issued by the Department of Statistics Malaysia today, the growth was supported by the favourable economic position, stable labour market conditions and low unemployment rates.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said labour productivity per employment recorded a two per cent growth to register RM24,230 per person, compared to RM23,744 per person in Q1 2023.
“Malaysia’s labour productivity posted 1.9 per cent growth with total hours worked increased 2.2 per cent to register 9.5 billion hours, aligned with 4.2 per cent economic growth in Q1 2024.
“The total number of employment registered was 16.4 million persons, indicating year-on-year growth of 2.1 per cent in Q1 2024, compared to 16.3 million persons in Q4 2023,” he said in a statement.
In terms of sectoral performance for labour productivity measured as value added per hour worked, Mohd Uzir said the construction sector drove the overall performance by posting a significant increase of 12.5 per cent year-on-year, followed by the mining and quarrying sector (2.7 per cent), services sector (1.8 per cent) and agriculture (0.9 per cent).
The manufacturing sector shrunk at a -0.3 per cent, he said.
“By looking at the sectoral performance for labour productivity as expressed by value added per employment, all sectors showed an increase, led by the construction sector at 10.7 per cent year-on-year, followed by the mining and quarrying sector (5.7 per cent), the services sector (1.9 per cent), the agriculture sector (1.5 per cent) and the manufacturing sector (0.2 per cent),” he said.
Meanwhile, six subsectors that contributed to the positive growth in labour productivity per employment for the services sector were transportation and storage (8.1 per cent), real estate and business services (7.3 per cent), other services (3.6 per cent), utilities (3.6 per cent), wholesale and retail trade (1.2 per cent), and information and communication (0.5 per cent).
The other two subsectors recorded negative growth, namely finance and insurance (-1.3 per cent) and food, beverages and accommodation (-0.4 per cent).
Mohd Uzir said the labour productivity is expected to post a better outlook as Malaysia’s economy recovers.
“The positive momentum of labour market growth and thriving business activities, as well as strengthening human capital, are among the factors for the enhancement of labour productivity,” he said. — Bernama
