2020.03.1304:53:00UTC+00Malaysia Industrial Production Growth Slows In January

Malaysia's industrial production grew at a softer pace in January driven by a rise in manufacturing, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Friday.

Industrial production rose 0.6 percent year-on-year in January, after a 2.1 percent increase in December.

Manufacturing output grew 2.1 percent in January, slower than a 3.4 percent rise in the previous month.

Among other sectors, mining and quarrying output declined 3.9 percent and electricity output fell 0.01 percent.

Separate data from the statistical office showed that the jobless rate fell to 3.2 percent in January from 3.3 percent in December. In the same month last year, unemployment rate was 3.3 percent.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the unemployment rate decreased to 3.2 percent in January from 3.3 percent in the preceding month.

The number of unemployed persons decreased to 511,700 in January from 517,000 in the preceding month.

The labor participation rate remained unchanged at 68.9 percent in January.