AMBANK Research expects the labour market to be challenging this year, underpinned by a more moderate economic outlook despite last year’s unemployment rate closing at a healthy rate of 3.3%.
The unemployment rate is expected to inch up to 3.4%–3.6% this year.
In a research note today (Feb 10), it said the labour market remained healthy with the unemployment rate in December at 3.3%, slightly higher than the 3.2% in November.
“The slight uptick was due to a decline in job creation activities, down 29,000 from 49,400 in November and a pick-up in unemployed persons at 3,100 from 1,800 in November.
“But labour force participation rate rose 68.9% in December – the highest since October 2013, from November’s 68.8%,” it said.
Meanwhile, it said the outside labour force – housewives, students, retirees and those inactively looking for a job – eased to 0.1% year-on-year in December from 0.3% yoy in November.
The research house also forecast that the fourth quarter (4Q) 2019 gross domestic product growth will hover at around 4.3%-4.5%, translating to full-year growth of between 4.5% and 4.6%, based on industrial production averaging 1.3% in the 4Q 2019 yoy. – Feb 10, 2020, Bernama
