THE country’s sustainable economic growth over the past 20 years has kept the unemployment rate at below 4 per cent, which based on economic definition, is considered as full employment, Dewan Rakyat heard yesterday.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said the good economic growth since 2011, from 5.1 per cent to 5.6 per cent last year saw the creation of 438,800 jobs in 2012, compared to 385,000 previously.
“This means that the unemployment rate declined from 3.1 per cent in 2011 to 3 per cent in 2012,” he said in reply to a written question by Mohamed Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak).
Despite the low unemployment rate, the government launched several programmes to increase jobs such as Jobs Malaysia and the 1Malaysia Training Scheme.
Over 10,000 graduates were also trained via the Graduate Employability Managmenet Scheme to improve the marketability of graduates.
The explanation by Abdul Wahid, the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Maybank, was praised by Azmin who also congratulated him on his appointment as Cabinet minister.
“His answers are far better than those given by senior ministers. When asked for statistics, the senator can analyse them well,” he said before asking a supplementary question.
However, opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh) felt otherwise and asked Abdul Wahid not to only read answers provided by his officers.
Abdul Wahid refuted allegation by saying that each data mentioned was not actually from the written reply but based on his experience in the private sector.
Anwar claimed that the 3 per cent unemployment statistic was unrealistic based on the assumption that there were about 80,000 unemployed graduates.
Assuming that it was a good rate was also inaccurate as those who were employed were in the under employment category.
Abdul Wahid said the unemployment rate of 3 per cent was actually a ‘respectable’ level compared to developed countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States at eight and six percent respectively.
On unemployment among graduates, he said a study in 2012 showed that almost all graduates gain employment within two years after graduation.
“A follow-up study conducted on graduates from 2008 to 2012, found that about 60 per cent gain employment within six months, while 15 per cent continued studies while the rest took a longer time to land jobs.” — Bernama