2020.12.1105:05:00UTC+00Malaysia Industrial Production Drops In October

Malaysia's industrial production dropped in October due to the weakness in the mining sector, data from the Department of Statistics showed on Friday.

Industrial production fell 0.5 percent year-on-year in October, after a 1.0 percent increase in September. This was in line with economists' expectations.

The drop in production was mainly due to decline in production of mining industry.

Manufacturing output rose 2.4 percent yearly in October, but slower than the 4.3 percent increase in the previous month.

Among other sectors, the mining and quarrying output decreased the most by 10.6 percent, while electricity output rose 1.0 percent.

On a monthly basis, industrial production climbed 1.7 percent in October.

Separate data from the statistical office showed that the jobless rate increased in October after decreasing for four straight months since June. The rate rose marginally to 4.7 percent in October from 4.6 percent in September.

The number of unemployed persons increased to 748,200 in October from 737,500 in the previous month.

The number of employed increased to 15.21 million in October from 15.19 million in the prior month.

The labor force participation rate rose marginally to 69.5 percent in October from 68.4 percent in September.