PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia recorded 5.92 million graduates in 2022, while the graduate's unemployment rate stood at 3.7%, according to the Graduates Statistics 2022 released by the Malaysia Statistics Department.

The Chief Statistician, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, said the number of graduates in Malaysia rose by 5.1% in 2022 to 5.92 million people from 5.63 million in 2021.

"A positive economic environment throughout 2022 has led to an increase in the number of graduates in Malaysia, which has reached a substantial 5.92 million persons. This is composed of 23.1% of the population in the working age of 15 years and above," he said in a statement on Monday (Nov 20).

Mohd Uzir said degree holders comprised 53.9%, or 3.19 million people, while diploma holders comprised 46.1% or 2.73 million people.

"Out of the total number of graduates during the year, 5.06 million were in the labour force, resulting in a graduates' labour force participation rate (GLFPR) of 85.4%," he said.

He added that year-on-year, the number of degree graduates in the labour force rose by 5.6% while diploma graduates increased by 5.5%.

Mohd Uzir said the number of employed graduates increased by 6.0% in 2022 to 4.87 million, compared to 4.59 million in 2021.

"Around two-thirds or 65.6% were employed in the skilled occupations category, accounting for 3.19 million persons," he said.

The highest share of employed persons in the skilled category, 38.4% or 1.87 million persons, were employed in professional occupations, followed by technicians and associate professionals with 17.7% or 860,400 persons.

Graduates employed in the semi-skilled category, which accounted for 32.8 % or 1.60 million people, were largely service and sales workers (14.0%), clerical support workers (10.7%) and craft and related trades workers (4.9%). About 1.6%, or 781,000 people, were employed in the low-skilled category.

Mohd Uzir said the unemployment rate of graduates eased by 0.4 percentage points to a record 3.7% in 2022, compared to 4.1 in 2021, while the number of unemployed graduates decreased by 5.5% in 2022 to a record 187,800, compared to 198,700 in 2021.

"In 2022, Malaysia's economy had gradually regained momentum towards recovery and fostered a healthier labour market situation compared to 2021," he said.- Bernama