KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s economic growth momentum is expected to continue in the third quarter of 2018, with the annual change of Leading Index (LI) increasing 0.3 per cent, year-on-year, in March 2018, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoS).
However, the monthly change of LI, which monitored economic performance in advance, showed a negative growth of 0.5 per cent in the same month, mainly due to the 0.7 per cent decrease in the number of housing units approved.
The department, in a statement on “Malaysian Economic Indicators: Leading, Coincident & Lagging Indexes March 2018,” said the Coincident Index (CI), which examined current economic activity, rose 0.6 per cent in March 2018.
It was driven by the increase in real contribution to the Employee’ Provident Fund (0.4 per cent), volume index of retail trade (0.3 per cent), total employment in the manufacturing sector (0.2 per cent) and real salaries and wages in the manufacturing sector (0.1 per cent).
“The annual change of CI stepped up to 3.4 per cent compared with 3.1 per cent in February 2018 and the Diffusion Index for CI remained at 66.7 per cent since January 2018,” it added.
Meanwhile, the Diffusion Index for LI was below 50.0 per cent for two consecutive months.
On Malaysia’s labour productivity for the first quarter of 2018 (1Q18), DoS survey showed it grew three per cent to RM80,440.
During the quarter, Malaysia’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 5.4 per cent and employment increased 2.3 per cent.
“Labour productivity in mining and quarrying sector increased significantly at 8.3 per cent in 1Q18 with a value of RM1.1 million. The value added of this sector recorded 0.1 per cent growth but employment declined 7.6 per cent,” DoS said in a statement today.
As for the manufacturing sector, labour productivity perked 3.3 per cent at RM108,670, value added grew 5.3 per cent while employment in the sector increased by 2.0 per cent.
The construction sector’s labour productivity grew 0.7 per cent in 1Q18 to RM43,173, value added increased by 4.9 per cent while employment growth remained at 4.2 per cent.
Meanwhile, the department said the services sector recorded a growth of 4.6 per cent to RM72,145 during the quarter while value added expanded to 6.5 per cent and employment rose 1.8 per cent.
In the agriculture sector, labour productivity posted a negative growth of 1.4 per cent at RM48,953.
“The value added of this sector grew 2.8 per cent while employment increased 4.2 per cent,” it added.