PENANG has successfully arrested the slide in unemployment rate thanks to its numerous job promotional activities.
Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Prof Dr P Ramasamy said data from the Social Security Organisation (PERKESO) showed that the state has recorded the lowest number of job losses as at Oct 15, 2021.
According to statistics, only 158 people in Penang had lost their jobs as compared to previous months. In comparison, 452 people had lost their jobs in October 2020.
Ramasamy also noted that those who lost their jobs were mostly between 25 and 29 years old.
“At the same time, the Penang state government has found employment for 1,322 individuals through the Career Generator 3.0 (Program Penjanakerjaya 3.0), a hiring incentive programme under the country’s PEMULIH package,” he revealed.
With more than 90% of the adult population in Malaysia fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and the Government recently lifting the ban on interstate travel throughout the country, various industries – especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the travel and tourism sector – are given a new lease of life after being shuttered for months due to the pandemic.
However, the manufacturing industry continues to record the highest number of layoffs especially among professionals.
“Jobstreet Malaysia and PERKESO currently have active vacancies totalling 6,859 and 7,377 respectively so I hope that jobseekers will take advantage of these websites to get new jobs.”
According to Ramasamy, InvestPenang via the Penang Career Assistance and Talent (CAT) Centre is also offering free services to promote job opportunities in Penang on its website.
“I also hope that small traders will take advantage of the various schemes offered by the Penang state government such as the Skim Pinjaman Harapan (SPH) and the Program Peningkatan and the Pemulihan Ekonomi (Bantuan Peralatan), among others, to revive their businesses.
“The Penang state government will continue to come up with new initiatives to reduce the unemployment rate in the state, to boost investment and to create job opportunities in stages for future needs,” Ramasamy concluded. – Oct 22, 2021.
