14.07.202006:15:00UTC+00Malaysia Jobless Rate Climbs For Fourth Month

Malaysia's unemployment rate rose for the fourth straight month in May, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Tuesday.

The jobless rate rose to 5.3 percent in May from 5.0 percent in April. The rate has risen steadily from 3.2 percent in January.

The number of unemployed increased by 47,300 persons to 826,100 in May from 778,800 in the previous month. Compared to the same period last year, the number of jobless rose by 306,300.

The number of employed decreased by 0.3 percent monthly to 14.89 million in May from 14.93 million in the prior month. In April, the fall was 2 percent.

The labor force participation rate fell to 68.0 percent in May from 68.1 percent in the preceding month.