What Malaysia’s Job Market Looks Like Right Now And How It’s Changing(2022)

Covid-19 has affected almost every aspect of our social life. The post-pandemic question that everyone has on their minds is if their jobs will survive through the pandemic effects or not. Automation and technological advancement has paved their roads into every sector, creating disruptions due to the social distancing norms. To dig deeper, technological advancement and automation were foreseen in the Malaysian market even without the Pandemic, but we reached there faster due to Covid-19 Pandemic. This is majorly affecting the labor market of Malaysia and the jobs that technology replaced.

From education to employment, there is a lot of change in our traditional ways of operating. The jobs majorly in demand and considered with high remuneration are the job profiles of data analytics, brand strategists and strategic advisors, Machine learning, robotics, cybersecurity, and IOT specialists. Considering this, the jobs expected to decrease demand are clerical, bookkeeping, secretarial, etc.

While this is how people perceive the Malaysian job market, the data statistics help us understand it better. With the situation gradually improving and offices opening up, there has been a steep rise in employment. There was a 0.2% growth in the month-to-month employment rate for January. The month-on-month labor rate was also positive, increasing 0.2 percent in January. This was down to businesses being allowed to operate at full capacity with longer working hours. The Malaysian job market is back alive as different sectors, like Food and Beverage, Information and communication, and Wholesale and retail, saw an upward employment trend.

There were 190,436 job openings in Q4 2021, and 45 732 companies were hiring to fill those vacancies. Of those 99,954 job openings i.e., 52% of the total job vacancies were in the following profiles.

1. Advertising and Marketing
2. Administrative Associate Professionals
3. Managing Directors and Chief Executives
4. Accountants and Auditors
5. Software Developers
6. Stock Clerks
7. Industrial and Productive Engineers
8. Business Service Managers
9. Sale and Marketing Managers
10. Content Creative Designers

While the top 5 Hiring Industries were:-

1. Accommodation and Food Service
2. Financial and Insurance Activities
3. Manufacturing
4. Professional, Scientific, and Technical Activities
5. Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and Motorcycles

Here, we can also expect the reopening of international borders soon, so tourism-related industries are expected to impact the labor market positively.

The number of unemployed persons also declined by 1.1% from January to December 2021. Out of these, 83.7 percent were actively unemployed, that is, individuals who were available for work and actively sought work for the mentioned period. The youth unemployment rate also witnessed a decline of 13.2 percent. These factors indicate an increasing demand for employment, and the ‘employees category’ is continuing to be the most favored sector of individuals looking for jobs, with 12.03 million persons actively engaged. 

The New Normal – Post-pandemic future of Malaysian jobs

The Pandemic accelerated existing trends in automation, e-commerce, and remote work. Hence, the ‘digital first’ skills will be sought after. With businesses changing their channels to online mode, the demand for skills like being able to use digital tools, do digital marketing, SEO, analytics, knowing market research tools, and being able to build relevant strategies to boost any business is being taken into consideration while selecting an applicant for any job. These are the skills that even give better compensation than other roles. Being able to eliminate strategic redundancy is what is looked forward to. The skillsets perceived as high in demand by Malaysians is emotional intelligence. Secondly, creativity, originality in thoughts, initiative and innovative nature, technological design and programming, and the ability to solve complex problems is the list of appreciated skillsets. There are various government initiatives to help people get used to it and eventually thrive on building on it.

Government Initiatives to assist the workforce in adjusting to the new work environment

1. The KPT-CAP initiative aims to offer 20,000 graduates by this year.
2. 313 applicants out of 2,381 were positioned in technology and digital services jobs under the MyDigitalWorkforce in Tech initiative.
3. The Majlis Amanah Rakyat(MARA) introduced a Professional Entrepreneur development Programme(ProSPEC) to encourage professionals to venture into entrepreneurship which can further increase the Human Resource demand. The financing scheme under this program provides up to RM500 thousand financing limits for machine purchase, modification of business premises, revolving capital, or procuring equipment.
4. RM 6.88 million were given to 589 recipients, including organizations and individuals, to support Arts, Culture, and Entertainment sector.

Government Initiatives to support Businesses in the Post-COVID economy

1. A total of RM2.06 billion guarantees have been approved for 58 companies under the Danajamin Prihatin Guarantee Scheme to assist businesses facing difficulties due to COVID-19.
2. 26,379 SMEs benefitted with RM12.59 billion through the SME’s Soft Loan Funds. Furthermore, RM91.8 million was channeled to 13,891 businesses to encourage and support SMEs and MTCs. 

The world has changed a lot in the past two years, and our work environment had to adapt to these changes. It finally seems we are heading towards some stability. Our economic sector has seen gradual growth. This positive growth is expected to continue in the upcoming months, ensuring an increase in business activities, further creating an increased workforce demand in the economy. A healthy and competitive job market is the heartbeat of a strong economy as it fosters an ever-evolving vibrant Human resource. If statistics are anything to go by, we are heading in the right direction. Here at JobsPivot, we offer career opportunities from reputable firms spanning across different states in Malaysia.JobsPivot effectively connects employers with the right talents.to find Part time jobs in Malaysia visit us.