Latest news with #underemployment
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Youth unemployment needs more than MySTEP
Malaysia's growing youth unemployment rate is becoming a serious problem with significant ramifications for social cohesion and economic stability. Over 13 per cent of Malaysians between the ages of 15 and 24 are now unemployed, contributing to high rates of poverty and depriving an increasing number of young people of financial stability. While the national unemployment rate hovers around 3.5 per cent, the disproportionate impact on younger individuals underscores the difficulties specific to this group. Financial stress on young Malaysians Underdeveloped career pathways, a lack of industry-aligned skills, and limited job opportunities all contribute to the challenges faced by Malaysian youth transitioning from school to the workforce. The job market is highly competitive for fresh graduates, particularly in sectors with strong demand but few entry-level positions. According to data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), nearly half of recent graduates are employed in fields unrelated to their degrees and often earn below the national median wage – a situation known as underemployment. This trend stifles potential economic contributions and deepens financial hardship in young households, thereby prolonging poverty cycles. Rising living costs only add to the pressure. In urban areas especially, young people struggle to meet their basic needs due to soaring expenses in housing, transport, and food. The economic fragility of Malaysia's youth is evident. For instance, food prices alone have risen by 6 per cent in the past year. If left unaddressed, analysts warn this could result in a 'lost generation' trapped by unrealised potential, prolonged financial strain, and reduced social mobility. Comparisons: Gaining insight from international approaches Malaysia is not alone in its struggle with youth unemployment. While countries around the world face similar challenges, some have introduced innovative solutions that offer valuable lessons. Germany, for instance, places significant emphasis on vocational training to tackle youth unemployment. Its dual education system – which integrates classroom learning with hands-on apprenticeships – has helped it maintain one of the lowest youth unemployment rates globally. This model highlights the importance of government–industry collaboration in ensuring steady employment pathways for young people. South Korea has adopted a more targeted approach with initiatives such as the Youth Employment Support Programme, which equips job-seeking youth with relevant skills. The government-funded internships offered through this scheme give young people real-world experience in sectors like finance and technology. With a youth unemployment rate of 8.7 per cent, South Korea's success in empowering young professionals could inspire similar action in Malaysia. Australia's Teenagers Allowance programme, which supports unemployed youth enrolled in full-time study or training, seeks to reduce youth poverty. This safety net not only facilitates skill development but also ensures basic living needs are met. By addressing both educational and employment requirements, Australia has managed to build a skilled workforce while lowering poverty among young people. Malaysian government initiatives and policy suggestions The Malaysian government is attempting to tackle youth unemployment through initiatives like the Malaysian Short-Term Employment Programme (MySTEP), which offers internships and placement opportunities to young Malaysians. However, critics argue that while MySTEP and similar schemes are commendable starting points, their reach remains limited. They do not sufficiently tackle root issues such as the lack of diverse entry-level jobs and the mismatch between graduates' skill sets and industry demands. With the rapid pace of technological advancement and evolving industry needs, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has acknowledged the necessity for structural reform. 'We must give young Malaysians not just jobs, but the right jobs that will match their skills and improve their economic status,' he recently said. Call to action Malaysia's youth unemployment issue requires urgent and sustained attention. While some mechanisms are already in place, the mounting challenges faced by young Malaysians demand a more cohesive response involving public, private, and educational stakeholders. Global examples show that it is possible to empower youth and insulate them from the impacts of poverty through bold, youth-centric policies. For Malaysia, adapting these international models to its local context could yield positive outcomes. Therefore, a renewed commitment to smart policymaking and strong industry partnerships is vital, as youth unemployment poses a serious risk to the nation's economic resilience and future growth. Only through a collective and sustained effort can Malaysia unlock the full potential of its younger generations, reduce youth poverty, and shape a more promising economic future. Datin Seri Professor Dr Suhaiza Hanim Mohamad Zailani is the director of the Ungku Aziz Centre for Development Studies, Universiti Malaya. The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of Twentytwo13.
Bloomberg
06-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Americans Are "Underemployed": Solo Funds Co-Founder
Solo Funds Co-Founder Rodney Williams says while he is pleased with the unemployment rate currently stands and Americans are working, he believes they are also 'underemployed' and the need for capital is at an 'all time high.' He speaks with Scarlet Fu on "Bloomberg Markets." (Source: Bloomberg)
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reason Aussies are working multiple jobs
The post-Covid boom in the number of Aussies working multiple jobs continues as higher cost of living pressures means more workers are taking on a second gig. The Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that in the March quarter there were 963,100 Aussies – or 6.5 per cent of the workforce – who had more than one job. While this is actually down from the previous quarter where 999,500 Australians held multiple jobs, it is still a sharp uptick in workers looking to diversify their incomes compared with the years prior to Covid, where around 5 to 6 per cent of Aussies took on a second gig. Seek senior economist Blair Chapman said the spike in cost-of-living pressures from inflation meant more Australians needed to take on extra work. 'We've really seen cost-of-living, especially for employee households, increase quite a lot over the last couple of years,' he said. 'If you've got a mortgage, those repayments have increased quite a bit over the last couple of years so I suspect people have sought a second job just to reach the higher cost of living recently.' Australians are holding onto their second job despite the overall unemployment rate holding firm in recent months, around the 4.1 per cent mark. The main driving force behind this trend is underemployment meaning workers are getting fewer hours from their primary employer than they'd like. 'We are seeing more people being employed in industries where we tend to see a lot of multiple job holdings,' Mr Chapman said. 'For example, we've seen healthcare and social assistance grow and that is one of the industries where multiple job holdings are most common. 'That comes down to the nature of the work, where you have shift work and one business may not be able to provide all the hours an employee wants so the individual has to work across multiple sites to get the hours they are desiring.' Many of these multiple job holders are Australians aged between 20-24, with women more likely to hold a second role over males. In contrast older Australians aged between 60 to 64 are the least likely to hold a second role. 'When we look at a lot of the multiple job holders, they tend to be younger. Maybe it is a university aged person who can't work full-time but can work nights and weekends,' Mr Chapman said. 'While maybe it is not the same job but for them it is probably good they can work multiple jobs with flexible hours.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
News.com.au
06-06-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Cost-of-living pressures sees Aussies take on a second job
The post-Covid boom in the number of Aussies working multiple jobs continues as higher cost of living pressures means more workers are taking on a second gig. The Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows that in the March quarter there were 963,100 Aussies – or 6.5 per cent of the workforce – who had more than one job. While this is actually down from the previous quarter where 999,500 Australians held multiple jobs, it is still a sharp uptick in workers looking to diversify their incomes compared with the years prior to Covid, where around 5 to 6 per cent of Aussies took on a second gig. Seek senior economist Blair Chapman said the spike in cost-of-living pressures from inflation meant more Australians needed to take on extra work. 'We've really seen cost-of-living, especially for employee households, increase quite a lot over the last couple of years,' he said. 'If you've got a mortgage, those repayments have increased quite a bit over the last couple of years so I suspect people have sought a second job just to reach the higher cost of living recently.' Australians are holding onto their second job despite the overall unemployment rate holding firm in recent months, around the 4.1 per cent mark. The main driving force behind this trend is underemployment meaning workers are getting fewer hours from their primary employer than they'd like. 'We are seeing more people being employed in industries where we tend to see a lot of multiple job holdings,' Mr Chapman said. 'For example, we've seen healthcare and social assistance grow and that is one of the industries where multiple job holdings are most common. 'That comes down to the nature of the work, where you have shift work and one business may not be able to provide all the hours an employee wants so the individual has to work across multiple sites to get the hours they are desiring.' Many of these multiple job holders are Australians aged between 20-24, with women more likely to hold a second role over males. In contrast older Australians aged between 60 to 64 are the least likely to hold a second role. 'When we look at a lot of the multiple job holders, they tend to be younger. Maybe it is a university aged person who can't work full-time but can work nights and weekends,' Mr Chapman said. 'While maybe it is not the same job but for them it is probably good they can work multiple jobs with flexible hours.'
CNA
01-06-2025
- Business
- CNA
‘Barely enough': Malaysia's fresh graduates face low pay, risk of underemployment vicious circle
KUALA LUMPUR: Andy Yap spent around four difficult months job hunting with no success after graduating in September last year. The 23-year-old computer science graduate from the Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation in Malaysia told CNA that he was often warned by hiring managers that his expected starting salary of RM3,000 (US$708) was 'too much'. While he eventually landed a software engineer role with a starting pay of RM4,000 a month, he said that some of his friends with engineering degrees found jobs with starting salaries of 'just above RM1,000'. ''I would say that I feel grateful, especially after searching for so long and spending so much effort," he told CNA. The struggles of young graduates like Yap have once again come under the spotlight amid renewed debates on Malaysia's underemployment crisis. A recent report by a labour market research group revealed that over 65 per cent of fresh graduates in the country earn less than RM3,000. According to the 'Gaji Cukup Makan' Economy report, released in May by Future Studies Berhad, this includes graduates with bachelor's, master's and PhD degrees, citing data from the Ministry of Higher Education's Graduate Tracer Study. CNA has reached out to the report's authors for further details on the survey methodology and the number of graduates involved in the study. 'Gaji Cukup Makan' in Malay translates literally to 'salary enough (only for) food', referring to a wage level that covers only basic living expenses, leaving little to no room for savings, investment or discretionary spending. The troubling pattern reflects a recurring trend highlighted in the Finance Ministry's Economic Outlook Report released last October, which showed that more than 50 per cent of fresh graduates have been drawing a monthly starting salary of below RM2,000 over the past decade. Unlike the "Gaji Cukup Makan" report which covered only degree holders, the Finance Ministry's survey also includes diploma graduates. 'This stagnation leaves them struggling to cover basic expenses, forcing difficult lifestyle compromises, opting for home-cooked meals over dining out or settling for more affordable housing in less desirable locations,' human resource (HR) consultant Diana Khairuddin from HR Edge told CNA. 'It's a system that's clearly out of sync with today's economic realities and in urgent need of reform,' said Khairuddin. According to the Employees Provident Fund, the monthly expenses for a single individual without a vehicle range from around RM1,530 in Alor Setar, Kedah to RM1,930 in Klang Valley, Malaysia's bustling economic and urban hub. Another graduate from the Class of 2024, Howard Ng, 23, told CNA that his monthly salary of about RM3,000 is 'barely enough' to cover his expenses, often leaving him stretching his budget and running a deficit just to get by. 'A third of my salary goes to paying rent, the rest pays for daily necessities, especially food … thankfully I am not currently paying off student loans,' said the global occupier services executive who graduated from the University of Reading Malaysia. Another graduate from INTI International University who did not want to be named also told CNA that she was 'disappointed' with her starting basic salary of RM2,400 as a physiotherapist, which she said is within the range of RM2,200 to RM2,800 that her peers in the same line are getting. She added that she counts her blessings that she is staying with her brother, which helps reduce her living expenses. 'At the moment, I only need to cover costs such as parking and car maintenance,' she said. Former Bank Negara governor Muhammad Ibrahim said early this month in an interview with local news outlet Sinar Harian that university graduate salaries should be closer to RM7,000 to RM8,000 a month when adjusted for a 5 per cent annual inflation rate. CNA takes a closer look at the factors behind the fresh graduates' low starting pay and how more can be done to tackle the problem. 'MANY HIGH-SKILLED JOBS ARE ALREADY SATURATED' One of the authors of the 'Gaji Cukup Makan' report, Mohd Yusof Saari, who is a former chief labour market economist at the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation in the United Arab Emirates, told the New Straits Times that the report revealed a deep structural crisis between higher education and employment, with tertiary education no longer guaranteeing high wages. The report also found that 70 per cent of fresh graduates in Malaysia are in semi-skilled or unskilled jobs. Semi-skilled roles include clerical, service, and sales positions, while low-skilled roles cover occupations in agriculture and fisheries, crafts and trades, plant and machine operators and other elementary tasks. According to the Department of Statistics, skilled roles include managers, legislators, professionals and technicians. Earlier findings by the department found that 36.8 per cent, or almost 2 million, of Malaysia's tertiary-educated workforce were underemployed as of the third quarter of last year. The department noted that only 17 per cent of new jobs were considered high-skilled, the New Straits Times reported. CNA earlier reported that Human Resources Minister Steven Sim had identified three employment paradoxes in Malaysia – stagnant pay as well as skills and jobs mismatch. The paradoxes centred around how the country shows 'positive' statistics in unemployment and the number of graduates produced, but struggles when it comes to wages, underemployment and the availability of high-paying jobs. Sim noted that Malaysia produces 300,000 graduates every year, but with only 50,000 high-paying, skilled jobs available. Khairuddin, the HR Consultant, told CNA: 'We are seeing a surge of degree holders entering the job market, but the reality is that many high-skilled roles are already saturated.' Career consultant and founder of SY Professional Review Sharifah Hani Yasmin added that such a situation 'creates an intensely competitive market that drives down starting salaries and weakens young professionals' bargaining power'. Another report by the Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) Research Institute analysing entry-level salaries in Malaysia from 1998 to 2022 in the private sector found that the wage gap between those with tertiary education and secondary education has steadily narrowed. The survey found that in 1997, degree holders earned 2.7 times more than SPM holders, but by 2022, the gap had narrowed to 1.7 times. SPM is the equivalent of Singapore's O-Levels. 'When graduate salaries are barely distinguishable from those of non-graduates, investing in higher education is no longer a guaranteed path to social mobility, it has become an economic risk,' Mohd Yusof told the New Straits Times, His report highlighted how this is especially so for low and middle-income households burdened by rising education costs. SHAPING WORK-READY GRADUATES Arulkumar Singaraveloo, chief executive officer of the Malaysia HR Forum, which trains human resource professionals and organisations, told CNA that employers have expressed concerns over the quality of Malaysia's graduates. This stems from outdated curricula and a lack of essential skills, which results in perceptions that many are not work-ready. Concurring, Sharifah added: 'Many graduates also lack industry exposure – internships and hands-on work experience – which leaves them ill-prepared to meet employer expectations or justify competitive salaries.' The physiotherapy graduate who spoke to CNA on the condition of anonymity shared that academic training alone had not fully prepared her for the realities of working life. 'One of the main challenges I've faced is in communication, especially when interacting with different types of patients … I've come to realise just how important clinical experience is in developing confidence and competence in this field,' she said. She told CNA that her course only involved short-term clinical postings with patients, which were not sufficient to develop deeper physio-patient interactions and soft skills that are critical for the job. She believed that these limitations might have an impact on seeking better remuneration in her role as a physiotherapist. Experts said that there needs to be a systemic and coordinated approach involving labour policies, education reforms and economic shifts through 'strong public-private partnerships'. Arulkumar said that this would mean integrating employer input into curriculum development and promoting modular, industry-relevant learning that reflects evolving workforce demands. 'Internships should be more meaningful and structured, ensuring they provide genuine work exposure and act as a clear transition pathway into full-time employment,' he said. Besides preparing graduates to be work-ready, experts also highlighted the need for structural economic reforms to generate high-value jobs and drive sustainable wage growth. Sharifah, who is also a freelance recruiter at A Job Thing, said that Malaysia needs to 'aggressively develop' high-impact industry ecosystems by doubling down on initiatives like the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP 2030). NIMP 2030, announced in 2023, is a seven-year industrial policy for the manufacturing and manufacturing-related services sector. Some of its key goals include growing employment by 20 per cent to create 3.3 million new jobs. 'By attracting investment in future-forward sectors, such as semiconductors, clean energy and biotechnology, we can generate a pipeline of well-paying, high-skilled jobs that local graduates can actually fill,' Sharifah told CNA. Besides creating more high-skilled jobs, HR expert Arulkumar said that the government should introduce targeted incentives such as wage subsidies or hiring grants for employers who take in fresh graduates for high-skilled roles. Sharifah said that this type of grant should be tied to measurable outcomes such as wage growth and workforce upskilling in order to ensure that the support goes to companies driving real progress, 'not just those expanding numbers on paper'. 'Malaysia must prioritise industrial upgrading by promoting sectors with higher value-add and innovation to boost demand for skilled talent,' Arulkumar elaborated. Authors of the "Gaji Cukup Makan" report have also proposed that the government introduce advisory wage guidelines to address wage suppression. Arulkumar said that while such guidelines can be helpful to establish baseline expectations for fresh graduate salaries, especially in high-cost urban areas where living expenses are significantly higher, the guidelines must be flexible and non-prescriptive to avoid distorting market dynamics and discourage hiring. 'For them to be effective, they should be sector-specific and reflect actual graduate capabilities and job complexity rather than being solely based on academic qualifications,' he said. 'While wages should largely be shaped by market forces, well-designed advisory guidelines, complemented by broader industrial upgrading, can help to ensure a fairer and more transparent transition into the workforce for young talent.' WHAT'S AT STAKE WITH MALAYSIA'S PERSISTENT UNDEREMPLOYMENT? Arulkumar said that persistent graduate underemployment risks creating a vicious cycle of low wages, wasted talent and declining confidence in higher education. 'Over time, this (persistent underemployment) could widen inequality, push talent overseas and undermine Malaysia's goal of becoming a high-income nation,' Arulkumar told CNA. Over the years, many Malaysian graduates and skilled workers have considered working in other countries for better job prospects, attractive salaries and an advantageous exchange rate. Authorities have flagged 'brain drain' as a concern for the nation, urging a push to ensure Malaysians return to their homeland after work experience abroad. Besides concerns about brain drain, Arulkumar warned that persistent underemployment would also burden and pressure the government to assist these graduates or even absorb them into the 'already bloated civil service'. 'Unless there is a coordinated shift where academic institutions redesign programmes around real industry and companies take ownership of talent development, I believe this pattern (of underemployment) will continue to repeat,' Sharifah told CNA. 'A generation stuck in a cycle of underemployment, career frustration and stagnant income is not just a graduate issue, it is a national one.'
