Malaysia Employment Stats 2004-2007

In the Malaysia Economic Report 2008, you can see the workforce statistics for Malaysia employment between the year 2003 and year 2007. The statistics are divided into different sectors and industries, where you can see the number of the workforce, as well as percentage of growth (or reduction) as compared to the previous years.

Manufacturing sector has shown to be one of the most important backbones of the Malaysia economy, even though the trend of growth has been steadily declining. The global competitiveness of the industry has driven many multinational companies to look for other alternative manufacturing avenues, particularly China. Perhaps, it is just true that some Free Trade Industrial Zones in Malaysia are facing extinction in the next years to come.

The Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Fishing, combined together, have been showing some worrying trend, with less and less number of people making up the industry as the years go by. This is not a good sign, especially considering the country which is rich with its agriculture and forestry resources. For the last 10 years, Malaysia has been the biggest exporter of palm oil and a few other agricultural products and if this is to be maintained, something needs to be done. The merger of Golden Hope, Guthrie and Sime Darby hopefully will be able to revive the industry and return it to its glory days.

The Government sector includes those in the public administration, health, education and defense. Clearly, from the growth chart, this is the most steady sector with very much linear growth for the past 3 years. However, with the new salary revision for public service employees, the competition to enter the public sector employment will be even more competitive and challenging. Gaining employment in the government sector is definitely the one that will frustrate job seekers the most.

The combination of Finance, Insurance, Real Estates and Business Services with the Other Services (8) will show us that the services sector is the most vibrant and highest growing industry at the moment. It eclipses the manufacturing sector, which for many years have been dominating and driving the economy’s growth engine. This is where you need to slot yourself in.

The Construction industry has been declining between 2004-2006 but came back with a bang in the year 2007. 2008 promises to be better yet with many gigantic projects, including the ECER (East Corridor Economic Region), NCER (North Corridor Economic Region), IDC (Iskandar Development Corridor), SER (Sabah Economic Corridor) and SCORE (Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy) developments set to take places.

Full table:

1. Manufacturing

2. Agriculture, Forestry, Livestock and Fishing

3. Government (Civil service)

4. Finance, Insurance, Real Estates and Business Services

5. Construction

6. Transport, Storage and Communication

7. Mining and Quarrying

8. Other Services

Other services include electricity, gas and water, wholesale and retail trade, hotels, restaurants and other services.

Other posts you may want to read:

1. Mixed Employment Trend in Singapore
2. Malaysia Unemployment Rate May Increase
3. IDR Now Iskandar Malaysia
4. 10 Top Malaysia Industries and Sectors To Work in 2008
5. Youth Unemployment Statistic Hits 90m
6. It’s Agrobank and No Longer Bank Pertanian
7. Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE)
8. Pharmaceutical Industry to Grow

Author's bio: Zul is the founder and principal contributor for the SKOR Career blog. He is the author of two books, The Malaysian Job Seeker's Dilemma and Buat Duit Tanpa Kerja Makan Gaji (How to Make Money Without a Job), available in major book stores nationwide. You can reach him at zulkiflimusa[at]gmail.com.