KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 — Malaysia’s labour productivity grew 2.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2019 (Q1 2019), reflecting the expansion of the country’s economic performance at 4.5 per cent.

The Department of Statistics (DoSM) Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said during the quarter, total hours worked increased 2.0 per cent as against 1.7 per cent in Q4 2018.

“In the meantime, labour productivity expressed as the ratio of value added to employment, recorded a growth of 2.2 per cent compared with 2.3 per cent in Q4 2018, as employment increased 2.2 per cent compared with 2.4 per cent in the previous quarter,” he said in a statement today. 

Uzir said in this quarter, the manufacturing and agriculture sectors recorded a better performance  of labour productivity in registering growth of 3.4 per cent compared with 3.0 per cent in Q4 2018 and 3.0 per cent compared with -0.7 per cent in the previous quarter respectively.

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“The construction sector posted the highest growth of 4.5 per cent, while the services sector continued to grow albeit at a more moderate rate of 2.9 per cent compared with 4.0 per cent in Q4 2018.

“The mining and quarrying sectors registered a mild decline of 0.8 per cent as compared to negative 1.6 per cent in the preceding quarter,” he added. —Bernama