The Human Resources Ministry says that as of the second quarter of this year, about 300,000 Malaysian youths between the ages of 15 and 24 do not have jobs.
It said that the high jobless rate is a problem many countries face worldwide.
The Statistics Department says the Malaysian youths unemployment rate for the second quarter of 2023 was 10.7%. That is equal to 307,700 people. This rate applies to people aged 15 to 24.
The unemployment rate seems high, but it’s important to note that the overall unemployment rate in Malaysia is 3.5%.
In the economic sense, full employment means the unemployment rate is less than 4%.
Moreover, the ministry said that one way to get more young people in this age group out of unemployment is to take advantage of the many job programs out there for them.
One of these was the Academy in Industry Program for SPM grads.
Young people who want to start jobs that require skills can join the Career Building Program for Informal Sector Workers and get a monthly allowance of RM300.
The TVET Career Empowerment Program gives an RM600 reward every month for three months.
Unemployed young people aged 18 and up could gain from the Industrial Training Scheme and the Future Workers Training program.
The government also runs programs like the National Structured Internship Program (MySIP), the Nurturing Expert Talent (MyNext) program, and the Young Employable Student (YES) program through TalentCorp.
According to the Higher Education Ministry, the MyNext-Future Youth Aspiration Graduate Marketability Grant (MyNext-FYA) helps graduates prepare for high-paying jobs (RM4,000 or more).
The Human Resources Ministry says that as of the second quarter of this year, about 300,000 Malaysian youths between the ages of 15 and 24 do not have jobs.