Economy to improve in the near-term
Published on: Thursday, February 29, 2024
By: Bernama
The Leading Index has shown a 0.3% year-on-year growth, marking the first positive growth in nine months, driven by a 41.5% surge in approved housing units, says the statistics department.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s economy is expected to improve in the near-term, supported by resilient domestic demand and stable labour market conditions, said the statistics department.
Chief statistician 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.
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“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 today.
He said Malaysia’s economy grew by 3% in the fourth quarter of 2023 (Q4 2023), slightly slower than the 3.3% growth registered in Q3 2023.
In Q4 2023, the industrial production index (IPI) rose by 1% 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 Q4 2023,” he noted.
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Uzir said the services volume index also grew by 4.1% to 148.5 points.
In view of the external sector performance, Uzir said that Malaysia’s exports in Q4 2023 declined by 6.9% to register RM366.3 billion, while imports rose by 1.3% to RM329.3 billion.
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Looking into the labour market performance, the number of employed persons grew 2.5%, to record 16.35 million persons in Q4 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% points lower, in Q4 2023, compared to 3.6% in the same period the previous 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 Q4 2023, while the producer price index (PPI) stood at negative 1%.
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