KUALA LUMPUR, July 10 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's unemployment rate stood at 3.3 percent in May with the number of unemployed reduced to 566,100 persons from 566,400 persons in April, official data showed Wednesday.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that an optimistic economic position in May has allowed the country's labor market to continue to develop steadily.
Therefore, the number of labor force in May strengthened further by 0.1 percent month-on-month to 17.15 million persons.
The labor force participation rate remained at 70.3 percent in May, as recorded in April.
In addition, the number of employed persons in May remained in a positive trend, with a rise of 0.1 percent month-on-month to 16.58 million persons.
The DOSM noted that economic and business activities continue to flourish, contributing to the creation of more jobs and income opportunities, which will encourage more labor participation in the market.
"The labor market is expected to remain on a stable path in the upcoming months, backed by favorable economic growth, a growing domestic economic position, as well as the recovery of the external sector," it added. ■
