PUTRAJAYA, Feb 20 — Malaysia’s labour productivity in the fourth quarter of 2019 (Q4 2019), as measured by value added per hours worked, rose 1.5 per cent compared to a growth of 2.6 per cent in the third quarter 2019 (Q3 2019), the Department of Statistics Malaysia said in a statement.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in terms of labour productivity level, value added per hour worked in Q4 2019 was RM42 per hour (Q3 2019: RM41 per hour).
During this quarter, Malaysia’s economy posted a growth of 3.6 per cent (Q3 2019: 4.4 per cent) while hours worked increased 2.1 per cent after registering an increase of 1.7 per cent in the previous quarter.
Overall for 2019, Malaysia’s labour productivity by value added per hour worked rose 2.2 per cent (2018: 3.4 per cent) with a labour productivity level of RM41 per hour (2018: RM40).
Nevertheless, growth of labour productivity by value added per employment remained at 2.2 per cent (2018: 2.2 per cent) with a level of RM93,909 per person (2018: RM91,932).
Labour productivity by hours worked for the construction sector increased 4.3 per cent in Q4 2019 (Q3 2019: 1.6 per cent).
The growth of labour productivity value added per hour worked for the manufacturing sector grew modestly at 1.2 per cent (Q3 2019: 2.9 per cent).
The services sector posted labour productivity growth in terms of value added per hour worked at 2.5 per cent (Q3 2019: 2.9 per cent).
The mining and quarrying sector recorded a smaller decline of 0.3 per cent (Q3 2019: -3.4 per cent) for labour productivity by hours worked.
Labour productivity by hours worked for the agriculture sector posted a negative growth of 5.8 per cent in Q4 2019 (Q3 2019: 1.8 per cent). — Bernama
