KUCHING: Almost half (46.6 percent) of self-employed persons in Malaysia reportedly lost their jobs during the movement control order (MCO) since March 18.
According to an online survey on the effects of Covid-19 on the economy and individuals conducted by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) from March 23-31, nine out of 10 respondents are still working with lower than usual salary. In terms of financial savings, more than two-thirds (71.4 percent) of self-employed respondents have sufficient savings for less than one month.
A total of 168,182 respondents aged 15 years and above participated in the special survey ‘Effects of Covid-19 Survey on Economy and Individuals (Round 1)’.
A press release from the DOSM, said only 6.2 percent of respondents are slightly affected financially while 52.6 percent of respondents are badly affected.
The majority of respondents said they are unprepared if the duration of the movement control order is extended except for employees under government linked companies (GLCs) and multinational companies (MNCs).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said, “The findings of this special survey show that the agriculture and services sectors recorded the highest percentage of job losses as compared to other sectors due to Covid-19, with 21.9 percent and 15 percent respectively.”
For the agriculture sector, 33 percent of workers in the fisheries sub-sector reported job losses while Agriculture & Plantation reported 21.1 percent job losses.
In the Services sector, job losses in the Food & Beverage sub-sector recorded 35.4 percent, followed by the Transport & Storage sub-sector with 18.7 percent.
“The findings of this survey will assist the Malaysian government and people in addressing the effects of Covid-19 on the economy and employment.
“The assessments are based on respondents who participated in the special survey and do not signify the views of all Malaysians. Therefore, it should be interpreted carefully to assess the effects of Covid-19 in Malaysia as it is not the official statistics.
“However, it can be used to support the current state of matters,” added Mohd Uzir.
He said, “The Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (Prihatin) is expected to facilitate these affected groups that will improvise the economy by generating disposable income as well as increasing the domestic consumption.”
The full report of this Special Survey is accessible via DOSM’s portal at www.dosm.gov.my or at official social media, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram @StatsMalaysia.
