Labour productivity growth higher than expected: Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's labour productivity grew by 4.2%, higher than the yearly average goal of 3.7% under the 11th Malaysia Plan (RMK11) for the period of 2016-2020, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
Najib (BN–Pekan) noted the increase of labour productivity was due to the contributions of the four main sectors, which are agriculture (5.2%), manufacturing (5.1%), development (4.8%) and services (3.7%).
"Overall, the labour productivity achievement is encouraging and in line with the government's wish to achieve an economy that is driven by productivity," Najib said after chairing the National Productivity Council (NPC) meeting at the Parliament building here.
Najib, who is also Finance Minister, said this achievement should be maintained in an effort to produce sustainable and inclusive economic growth rates.
According to the Prime Minister, the NPC has decided for labour productivity achievements to be monitored and reported on a quarterly basis.
Najib said the Malaysian Labour Force Statistics Bureau under the Statistics Department will publish the quarterly labour productivity data, when the first issue is launched on Monday.
"The meeting has also decided for the National Oversight Productivity Council (NOPC), which is chaired by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry to be absorbed under MPC to increase the effectiveness of the Malaysian Productivity Blueprint.
"The meeting has also agreed to the electrical and electronic subsection action plan, where four main strategies with 13 initiatives has been outlined for the next three years," he added.