The department said the number of unemployed persons rose by 9,600 persons, registering 782,500 jobless people for January, against 772,900 for December.

“Entering the year 2021, the labour market remained in a challenging situation following the rising number of Covid-19 new cases. As a consequence, the movement control order (MCO) 2.0 was imposed beginning from Jan 13 in most states and was extended to Feb 4.

“During this phase, only five essential economic sectors were allowed to operate, whereas interstate and inter-district travel activities were restricted. Indirectly, this situation led to an uneven recovery momentum for businesses, which consequently affected the labour market,” Chief Statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said in a statement.

He said the continuous increase in the number of unemployed persons was partly due to a review of business strategies in tourism-related industries which consists of accommodation and food services, passenger transportation, entertainment and recreational activities.

Furthermore, the number of employed persons who were temporarily not working continued to increase in January to 158,900.

“This group, who were most likely not able to work, was not categorised as unemployed as they had work to return to,” he said.

Uzir also noted that the labour market is expected to face a little bumpy road in the first quarter of this year.