Estimated 50,000 To Lose Their Jobs This Year

In the above video, the Star interviews Human Resources Ministry’s Deputy Director-General of Labour (I) Datuk Sheikh Yahya Sheikh Mohamed about Malaysia's current job market and strategies taken to reduce the impact of the current global financial crisis.

Last month, the Reuters reported that 26,000 jobs has been lost since since the start of the global financial crisis in September last year. Its is estimated that 50,000 employees could lose their jobs this year as manufacturing companies downscale production.

However, the news agency quoting a senior government stated that job cuts in the current recession is not as bad as during the 1997/98 Asia financial crisis. Then, Malaysia lost 84,000 jobs.

The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that Malaysia’s unemployment rate would raise to 4.5% this year from 3.7% last year. Based on the latest third-quarter labour figures, this apparently amounts to approximately 500,000 people jobless this year.

Most of the job loses are in the manufacturing industry.

Despite the pessimism in the job market, major Malaysian job vacancies websites still post plenty of jobs on offer.

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