PUTRAJAYA, June 7 — Malaysia’s national labour productivity saw a 1.9% increase in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, reaching RM42 per hour compared to RM41.2 per hour in the same period last year, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia. This growth, detailed in the Labour Productivity Statistics for Q1 2024, was underpinned by a stable economic environment, strong labour market conditions, and low unemployment rates. Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin highlighted that labour productivity per employment grew by 2% to RM24,230 per person from RM23,744 in Q1 2023.
The total hours worked rose by 2.2% to 9.5 billion hours, aligning with a 4.2% economic growth in Q1 2024. Sectoral performance saw notable increases in the construction sector (12.5%), mining and quarrying (2.7%), services (1.8%), and agriculture (0.9%), while the manufacturing sector saw a slight decline of -0.3%. Positive contributions to labour productivity in the services sector came from subsectors like transportation and storage (8.1%), real estate and business services (7.3%), and others, though finance and insurance (-1.3%) and food, beverages, and accommodation (-0.4%) recorded declines. Mohd Uzir expressed optimism about continued productivity growth as the economy recovers.
