ISKANDAR PUTERI, Oct 25 — The Johor government expects 26,000 job opportunities to be offered to young people across the state this year, driven by rapid economic growth and the influx of high-value investments.

Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the projected figure reflected a consistent year-on-year increase, following the success of various strategic initiatives, including the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) and large-scale career events such as the Johor Talent Development Council (JTDC) Mega Job Fair.

He said the state had continued to record a significant increase in quality job opportunities compared with previous years.

“A total of 15,000 job opportunities were offered in 2022, rising to 17,000 in 2024 and surging to 24,000 in 2025, before reaching a target of 26,000 this year,” he said.

“For comparison, the JTDC Mega Job Fair alone offered 3,000 job opportunities, 30 per cent of which, or 1,000 positions, were in the premium-salary category,” he said when delivering his speech at the closing ceremony of the JTDC Mega Job Fair at the Tunku Mahkota Ismail Youth Centre (TMIYC) in Iskandar Puteri here today.

Elaborating further, Onn Hafiz said Johor’s strong economic performance was also supported by a gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate of 8 per cent, the highest in the country’s history, as well as investment inflows reaching RM110 billion.

However, he said these macroeconomic growth figures must translate into tangible benefits for the people, particularly young people and small and medium enterprises (SMEs), so that they could genuinely share in the state’s prosperity.

“These figures must not simply look good on paper; the people must feel and enjoy the benefits of the development taking place in the state,” he said.

In line with efforts to strengthen human capital, he said the state government was also emphasising the importance of reskilling and upskilling programmes to ensure the local workforce met the standards required by high-paying industries in advanced manufacturing, logistics, energy and data centres. — Bernama