3 out of 5 Workers Who Lost Their Jobs Recently Were Youths

DM-Analytic Sdn Bhd economist Zouhair Rosli said that three out of five workers who lost their jobs in recent months were below 40 years of age. Most of these workers were from the informal sectors which did not offer any social security net.

Zouhair said a study also showed that three out of five informal sector employees were making less than RM4,000 a month and during the Coronavirus pandemic, 50% of them lost their business. 

"(A total of) 2.5 million Malaysians were employed in the informal sectors. The number of youths between 20 to 30 years old working in informal sectors doubled from 6% in 2016 to 12% in 2019, despite the jobs not offering fixed wages.   

"Those who managed to keep their jobs saw their income decreased by 90%. This group revealed that they did not have enough savings even to last for a month,” he said in Youth Webinar on COVID-19: Challenges and Survival of Youths, organised by the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) youth wing.

Zouhair said youths needed extraordinary intervention from the government to help them get back on their feet. He also added that the assistance dished out thus far was not enough for those who were self-employed or had been retrenched.

He said more jobs must be created for these youths so that they will be safe in times of crises like this. He also said that self-employed youths should continue making at least RM1,000 a month in government aid until the end of the year.

Over 15,000 people lost their jobs in Q1 of 2020.

The Coronavirus pandemic had a huge impact on the Malaysian economy. Around 15,000 people were retrenched in the first quarter of 2020. Over half of the job losses happened due to business closures in the tourism sector.

The government offered numerous aids to lessen the burdens of employers and employees alike, such as the Wage Subsidy Programme and the short-term economic recovery plan Penjana. Recently, the Wage Subsidy Programme was extended for three more months. 

The government also declared RM1.5 billion for hiring incentives which is expected to help some 300,000 through two incentives, RM800 a month for each worker under the age of 40 hired and RM1,000 a month for workers above the age of 40 or those who are special needs. This incentive will be provided for six months.

To help the unemployed to increase their skills, those who have lost their jobs can claim training allowances of up to RM4,000 under Socso even if they do not contribute to the Employment Insurance System.

Source: Bernama

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