Malaysian Jobless Rate Falls To 3.1%, Lowest Since May 2015

(RTTNews) - Malaysia's jobless rate dropped slightly in December to the lowest level in nearly a decade, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Monday.

The jobless rate came in at 3.1 percent in December, down from 3.2 percent in November. In the same month last year, the unemployment rate was 3.3 percent.

Further, this was the lowest jobless rate since May 2015, when the rate was also the same 3.1 percent.

The number of unemployed people decreased to 544,300 in December from 546,700 in the previous month.

The labor force participation rate rose to 70.6 percent in December from 70.5 percent a month ago.

Separate official data showed that the value of construction work done in the fourth quarter grew sharply by 23.1 percent annually versus a 22.9 percent surge in the third quarter.

The vibrant performance was primarily driven by the buoyant performance of the special trade activities and residential buildings sub-sectors, the agency said.