The labour outlook in Malaysia for the rest of the year remains positive, with the unemployment rate likely to hold steady at around 3.2%, said the Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB), adding that the job market is expected to continue to drive domestic consumption and support economic growth.
“However, the pace of improvement is expected to be modest going forward, given the continued global uncertainties, including geopolitical tension, weak growth in China and global inflation.
“Taking all that into consideration, we maintain our 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast at 5% year-on-year,” the bank said.
According to the Labour Force Statistics, the unemployment rate in August fell to 3.2%, registering 558,500 unemployed people, despite registering a rate of 3.3% for 9 months.
At the same time, MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd’s research arm, MIDF Research said the unemployment rate has fallen to a new post-pandemic low, with expectations that the unemployment rate will continue to remain low and average at 3.3% for 2024.
“With the jobless rate falling further to 3.2% in August 2024, we foresee firms will continue to increase labour demand in view of a positive economic outlook,” it said.
MIDF Research believes that the increased employment of foreign labour would also contribute to employment growth, with total hirings of non-citizens increasing to 2.36 million as of the second quarter (2Q24), from 2.22 million in 4Q 2023 or only 1.1% lower than the pre-pandemic level of 2.39 million in 4Q19.
“Given the external uncertainties, we remain cautious that the job market outlook will also be affected by several downside risks, such as renewed weakness in external trade and disruption to the global supply chain, either due to weak final demand from major trading partners or worsening in the ongoing geopolitical conflicts,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics an IoT Institute (MARii) has successfully trained and certified 1,253 engineers through the Digital Engineering ans Prototyping (DEP) Professional Certification Programme since its inception in 2020.
The agency that operates under the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) said that the number includes 482 engineers who completed the 50-day programme in 2024, involving over 120 transportation and mobility companies.
MARii stated that the DEP programme, which focuses on computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided engineering (CAE) and computer-aided styling (CAS) is instrumental in shaping the next generation of industry leaders.
“By building these advanced competencies, the programme aligns with Malaysia’s goals under the National Automotive Policy 2020 and the New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030.
“It ensures that these newly skilled engineers are equipped to drive the development of Next Generation Vehicles (NxGV) using Autonomous, Connected, Electrified and Shared Mobility (ACES) technologies,” the agency shared.
Additionally, MARii chief executive officer Azrul Reza Aziz underscored the importance of developing local talent to elevate Malaysia as the automotive hub of ASEAN.
“This initiative aims to produce globally recognised design engineers, simulation engineers and vehicle designers capable of delivering quality projects and securing new projects in the competitive automotive market,” he said.
The DEP programme is a collaboration between MARii and leading technology partners such as Dassault Systemes, Altair and Autodesk. It equips local engineers with the tools and expertise needed to excel in the global automotive landscape.
