KUALA LUMPUR: The government has disbursed a total of RM150.979 million to 6,853 employers through the Wage Subsidy Programme 5.0 (PSU 5.0) up to April 15, 2022, which has helped to sustain employment for 97,662 workers.

Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said that in total, the government has disbursed RM20.755 billion to 357,715 employers through the Wage Subsidy Programme to maintain the employment of 2,956,607 local workers.

"Apart from that, the government, through the Higher Education Ministry, has allocated RM100 million for the KPT-CAP initiative (Career Advancement Programme) in an effort to address the issue of unemployed graduates.

"Up to April 8, 2022, the KPT-CAP programme managed to place jobs for 11,750 graduates," Tengku Zafrul said in the 94th People's Financial Report issued today.

The government will continue the KPT-CAP initiative with the target to offer 20,000 job opportunities to graduates in 2022, he said.

Commenting on the economy, Tengku Zafrul said the economic indicators for the first three months of 2022 showed a positive outlook, with high mobility expected following the reopening of international borders.

He noted that the country's total trade maintained its strong performance by registering a growth of 17.5 per cent, reaching RM184.8 billion from RM157.3 billion in February 2021.

"Both exports and imports jumped to 16.8 per cent and 18.4 per cent year-on-year, respectively, recording RM102.3 billion and RM82.5 billion, contributing to a widening trade surplus of 10.7 per cent.

The Malaysian labour force has been recovering gradually since 2021, and a stronger recovery is expected this year, he said.

"The expectation is based on a more targeted approach taken to manage the public health situation, especially in the second half of 2021, compared to the comprehensive sanctions implemented in the previous year," the minister said.

In addition to various initiatives by the government, Tengku Zafrul noted that the continuous resumption of economic activities with longer business hours, coupled with permission for social activities and inter-state travel had significantly contributed to stimulating Malaysia's economic performance.

The transition phase to endemic, which took effect from April 1, 2022, has opened up more opportunities where businesses are allowed to operate as they did pre-pandemic, while international borders are reopened, he said.

-- BERNAMA