21,532 People Lost Their Jobs in 2018, 50% From Klang Valley

The Ministry of Human Resources revealed that from January 1 to December 7 this year, about 21,532 people had lost their jobs nationwide. More than half of those who lost their jobs were formerly employed within the Klang Valley.

Selangor lead the list with 5,902 losing their jobs, followed by Kuala Lumpur (4,767), Johor (2,536) and Penang (1,328). Minister M. Kulasegaran said that that the changes in industries and the fast pace of the employment market are the main contributors to the city people losing their jobs.

“There are many reasons, changes in the market, new industries, and some are just due to work cycles,” - M. Kulasegaran

Out of 21,532 people who lost their jobs, 7,755 of them were those from the top three high paying jobs, namely managers, professionals and technicians, and were diploma and degree holders. He said “These three categories are limited and they also have to compete with fresh graduates.”

The manufacturing sector are one of the most affected sectors, with 32% of employees lost their jobs. The construction sector came second at 8.8%, followed by the financial sector at 8.1%,

Kulasegaran also spoke of efforts by the Social Security Organisation (Socso) to get people back into the workforce. “As of December 7, Socso’s Employment Services Division has succeeded in placing 6,292 people back into the workforce, in various occupations and industries,” he said.

He also pointed out the efforts of the Ministry of Human Resources in working to streamline all Technical and Vocational Training (TVET) programmes within the country, in order to prepare workers for the Industrial Revolution 4.0

“With now people mentioning even Industrial Revolution 5.0, we need to get these workers ready. We need to focus more efforts in training our human capital, and more attention will be given to this by the government,” he added.

He said that the TVET programmes will be reassessed according to the needs of the economic sector and able to upgrade job marketability, employability and to provide better salaries for TVET graduates.

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