Increasing unemployment rate in Malaysia has urged the government to initiate massive new job opportunities. Starting next year, the government is set to implement n Employment Generation Guarantee Scheme (JanaKerja) that involves the provision of 500,000 new jobs.

RM3.7 billion will be allocated to create various upskilling and training programmes, Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said.

“The average unemployment rate recorded in the last 10 years was 3.2 percent or about 500,000 people. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, it has risen to 5.3 percent or 820,000 jobless in May, which is the highest since 1989.

Through the reopening of the economy and implementation of the Prihatin economic stimulus package and Penjana economic recovery plan, the unemployment rate dropped to 4.7 percent in August,” he told the Dewan Rakyat.

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He said the government would also continue with recruitment efforts through Socso, with an allocation of RM2 billion on four incentives, Bernama reports.

• Workers earning RM1,500 and above would receive an increase in incentive from a rate of RM800 a month to 40 percent of monthly salary, up to RM4,000 a month.
• Employers will receive an additional incentive of 20 percent, taking the overall incentive for employers to 60 percent, to encourage job opportunities for people with disabilities, the long-term unemployed, and those whose services have been terminated.
• Sectors with a high dependence on foreign workers, such as construction and plantations will receive a special incentive of 60 percent of monthly salary, with 40 percent channelled directly to employers and 20 percent to local employees replacing the foreign workers.”

All these three incentives will be given for a period of six months, he said.

• Employers will now be able to claim RM7,000 towards training costs for high-skilled or professional certificate programmes, for those employed under PenjanaKerjaya.

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