Unemployment rate in Malaysia at 3 per cent - Abdul Wahid

The average annual unemployment rate in Malaysia was at three per cent during the first four years of the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015).

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar said although Malaysia had a total of 14 million workers with more than 400,000 people looking for jobs at any given time, the government had set a target that 75 per cent of graduates would find employment within six months of their graduation.

More than 53,000 graduates with diplomas or degrees and those who passed the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) exams had benefited from the 1Malaysia Training Scheme (SL1M) introduced in 2011, he said.

Abdul Wahid was speaking at a press conference after the closing of the SL1M Career and Open Interview Programme for the East Coast Zone, held at the Pengkalan Chepa Industrial Training Institute, here, today.

He said of the total, 19,700 were graduates who had undergone training and were directly involved in the programme.

"The rest were those who received assistance from outreach programmes, where we trained them on how to make a resume, how to go through the interview and so on.

"This is an intervention programme where we provide or train them in the classroom to gain proficiency and interpersonal skills and during the remaining six to 10 months, they are trained at the participating companies," he said.

At the event, the Bumiputera Agenda Driving Unit (Teraju) also handed over RM15 million in funds to the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC) which will benefit about 1,200 micro entrepreneurs and small and medium industries (SMIs) in the region.

The event also saw 140 participating companies offering about 5,000 new job opportunities for graduates in various fields.