PUTRAJAYA: Nearly 50% of self-employed have lost their jobs and 90% are still working with lower than usual salary.
This was the finding based on a Special Survey Effects of Covid-19 Survey on Economy and Individuals (Round 1) conducted by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) through online from March 23-31.
A total of 168,182 respondents aged 15 years and above participated in it.
In terms of financial savings, more than two-thirds (71.4%) of self-employed respondents have sufficient savings for less than one month.
Only 6.2% of respondents said they are less affected and 52.6% of respondents informed they are financially most affected.
The duration of employee tenure also influences the financial savings of which 69.7% of those who have worked for less than a year stated that their financial savings may only support less than a month.
Whereas 11.4% of those working for 21-30 years and 11.7% working over 30 years had sufficient financial savings up to four months.
The majority of respondents said they are unprepared if the duration of the Movement Control Order (MCO) was extended except for employees under Government Linked Companies (GLC) and multinational companies (MNCs).
“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% and 15% respectively,” Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Sri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said today.
“For the Agriculture sector, 33% of workers in the Fisheries sub-sector reported job losses whilst 21.1% in Agriculture & Plantation. In the Services sector, job losses in the Food & Beverage
“Services sub-sector recorded 35.4 per cent, followed by the Transport & Storage subsector with 18.7%.”
He added that the findings of this survey would assist the 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,” he said.
“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.
“The Economic Stimulus Package Prihatin Rakyat is expected to facilitate these affected groups that will improvise the economy by generating disposable income as well as increasing the domestic consumption,“ he said.
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.
