IN light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns, Penang’s employment outlook remains resilient.
This was revealed by Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy, who is also the state Economic Planning, Education and Human Resources, Technology and Innovation Committee chairman during an interview with Buletin Mutiara recently.
In an hour-long session, Ramasamy said a total of 11,996 workers had managed to regain employment through the Hiring Incentive Programme 1.0 under Social Security Organisation (Socso) last year.
“In this year alone till June 25, a total of 8,895 people have been successfully absorbed through the Hiring Incentive Programme 2.0 into related sectors.
“This shows that the employment in the state is doing well amid the pandemic.
“It’s mostly due to the fact that many multinational companies are allowed to operate with strict standard operating procedures (SOPs).
“As of June 25, the five sectors that had absorbed labour recruitment under Hiring Incentive Programme 2.0 were the manufacturing sector (2,118), services sector (1,529), transportation and storage (958), administration and support services (766) and the accommodation and beverage industry (637).
“Besides that, the highest intake was in June which recorded 4,192 people compared to May (2,121), April (1,010), March (905), February (425) and January (242). This shows that the trend is increasing while the labour sector is expected to have a positive outlook.
“In addition, the economic sector, especially multinational companies which are still given green light to operate with strict SOPs are absorbing those who have been retrenched,” he said.
Ramasamy, however, is worried about the fate of the self-employed and those who do not have any permanent jobs.
“That’s why the Penang government had come out with the stimulus packages to assist those affected people,” he added.
Based on the latest Sosco data, Ramasamy pointed out that the total number of workers who lost their jobs last year was 10,465 while it was 2,101 people up to June 25 this year.
“Most of the workers lost their jobs in the manufacturing sector (624) but many of them were able to secure a new employment from the same sector as well,” he said, adding that the current state’s unemployment rate was below the 3.2% of national unemployment rate recorded on Dec 31 last year.
Ramasamy added that the state, through the Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC), would strive to provide more skill-based courses for the youths to ensure that they could cater to the job demand.
Story by Edmund Lee
Pix by Adleena Rahayu Ahmad Radzi