PUTRAJAYA: A survey has found that 46.6 per cent of self-employed respondents had reported losing their jobs following Covid-19 and the Movement Control Order (MCO) being enforced.
The findings of the survey also showed that the agriculture and services sectors recorded the highest percentage of job losses as compared to other sectors.
Chief Statistician Malaysia Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the findings of the special survey showed 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 per cent and 15.0 per cent respectively.
“For the agriculture sector, 33.0 per cent of workers in the fisheries sub-sector reported job losses whilst 21.1 per cent in agriculture & plantation. In the services sector, job losses were in the Food & Beverage Services sub-sector recording 35.4 per cent, followed by the Transport & Storage sub- sector with 18.7 per cent,” he said.
The first round of the Effects of Covid-19 Survey on Economy and Individuals was conducted by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) via online from March 23 until March 31.
A total of 168,182 respondents aged 15 years and above participated in the survey.
The survey also found that an estimated nine out of 10 respondents were still working with lower than usual salaries.
“In terms of financial savings, more than two-thirds (71.4 per cent) of self-employed respondents have sufficient savings for less than one month.
"Only 6.2 per cent of respondents said they were less affected and 52.6 per cent of respondents informed they were financially most affected,” said the survey.
The survey also found that the duration of employee tenure also influences the financial savings of which 69.7 per cent of those who have worked for less than one year stated that their financial savings may only support them for less than a month. About 11.4 per cent of those working for 21-30 years and 11.7 per cent working over 30 years had sufficient financial savings up to 4 months.
“The majority of respondents said they are unprepared if the duration of the MCO was extended except for employees under Government Linked Companies (GLC) and multinational companies (MNCs),” the survey found.
Uzir said the findings of the survey would assist the Malaysian 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. 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 (PRIHATIN) 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.