SEREMBAN:Negeri Sembilan’s unemployment rate rose to 3.6 per cent in the second quarter of this year compared to 3.3 per cent recorded in the first quarter, following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Negeri Sembilan State Assembly was told today.

State Human Resources, Plantation and Non-Muslim Affairs Action Committee chairman J. Arul Kumar said this brought the total number of unemployed individuals in the state to 35,000.

“This is due to the global economic uncertainty following the COVID-19 pandemic which have resulted in drop in demand apart from the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) causing some employers to close operations or reduce manpower.

“The uncertainty of this situation also affects new investments and in turn reduces the existence of new job opportunities,” he said at an oral question-and-answer session at today’s sitting.

He was replying to a question from Mustapha Nagoor (BN-Palong) who wanted to know the latest status of the unemployment rate in the state and its contributing factors as well as the state government's efforts to address the problem.

Apart from that, Arul Kumar said that mismatch between the needs of the industry and the skills and qualifications of job seekers, as well as limited employment opportunities in non-technical fields also led to an increase in the number of those unemployed as well as the applicants’ attitude of being choosy.

Following that, he said the state government encourages both domestic and foreign investments as well as creating employment opportunities for the people and providing an effective matching mechanism to help the people find employment via JobsMalaysia.

“Apart from online job matching, career carnivals and open interviews are being arranged at all times to help job seekers find employment. Job seekers are also given guidance in preparing a good resume and tips for interviews,” he said.

-- BERNAMA