MALAYSIA'S ECONOMY EXPECTED TO IMPROVE IN NEAR TERM - DOSM

Malaysia's economy is expected to improve in the near term, supported by resilient domestic demand and stable labour market conditions, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the Leading Index (LI) showed a 0.3% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth to reach 110.1 points in December 2023 compared to 109.8 points in December 2022.

“This notable rebound marked the first instance of positive growth following nine consecutive months of decline, largely propelled by a significant surge of 41.5% in the number of housing units approved,” he said in a statement.

He said Malaysia's economy grew by 3.0% in the fourth quarter of 2023 (4Q 2023), slightly slower than the 3.3% growth registered in 3Q 2023.

In 4Q 2023, the Industrial Production Index (IPI) rose by 1.0% y-o-y, despite the sales value of the manufacturing sector contracting by 2.7% y-o-y to RM461.5 billion.

Meanwhile, the revenue of the services sector registered a 6.6% y-o-y growth, reaching RM591.4 billion in 4Q 2023, he noted.

He said the services volume index also grew by 4.1% to 148.5 points.

In view of external sector performance, Mohd Uzir said that Malaysia's exports in 4Q 2023 declined by 6.9% to register RM366.3 billion, while imports rose by 1.3% to RM329.3 billion. 

Looking into the labour market performance, the number of employed persons grew 2.5%, to record 16.35 million persons in 4Q 2023 while the unemployment rate registered at 3.3%, he said.

“Malaysia's labour landscape witnessed an improvement with the unemployment rate standing at 3.3%, or 0.3 percentage points lower, in 4Q 2023, compared to 3.6% in the same period last year.

“This reduction was propelled by sustained employment growth, which increased by 2.5% y-o-y, while the labour force rose by 2.2% y-o-y, reaching 16.91 million persons, maintaining a robust labour force participation rate of 70.1%,” he added. 

In terms of prices, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased to 1.6% y-o-y in 4Q 2023, while the Producer Price Index (PPI) stood at negative 1.0%.