DOSM: PRIHATIN, PENJANA help balance economic impact of MCO, pandemic

DOSM: PRIHATIN, PENJANA help balance economic impact of MCO, pandemic

29 Jul 2020

The Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) and the National Economic Recovery Plan (PENJANA) have helped to balance the overall consequences of the Movement Control Order (MCO) and COVID-19 outbreak on the economy, says the Department of Statistics

In the third volume of the Malaysian Economic Statistics Review (MESR) released today, the department said these packages have managed to ease households’ financial burden and stimulate domestic spending to spur local businesses.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said a significant improvement in business sentiment and rebound in operations contributed to the positive growth in June 2020 exports, registering a growth of 8.8 per cent to RM82.9 billion and resulting in a trade surplus of RM20.9 billion.

“The Industrial Production Index also surged 18.2 per cent in May 2020 as compared with the previous month,” he said.

Meanwhile, the wholesale & retail trade sales value rebounded 26.3 per cent in May 2020 against the previous month, while the Labour Force Participation Rate was slightly lower at 68.0 per cent compared with April 2020.

The number of employed persons fell by 0.3 per cent while the unemployment rate recorded 5.3 per cent in May 2020 against 5.0 per cent in the previous month.

He said the decline in the number of employed persons is expected to reduce the income received by households, hence affecting their purchasing power.

The department found that the income gap among households has broadened as reflected by the Gini Coefficient, which increased to 0.407 in 2019 from 0.399 in 2016

“Nevertheless, the continuous stimulus packages injected by the government are foreseen to gradually improve the market situation that will further stimulate healthy labour market conditions which will generate income for the households.

“This will consequently increase domestic consumption activities and uplift Malaysian households’ overall well-being,” he added.

Source: Bernama