Malaysia's labor productivity grows 2.6 pct in Q3

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's labor productivity, as measured by value added per hour worked, increased 2.6 percent year-on-year to 43.3 ringgit (9.69 U.S. dollars) per hour in the third quarter, official data showed Wednesday.

Malaysia's total hours worked during the quarter grew 2.7 percent year-on-year to 9.7 billion hours, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement.

Meanwhile, employment in Malaysia increased to 16.7 million persons in the quarter, indicating a year-on-year growth of 2.9 percent.

Labor productivity per employment also rose 2.4 percent year-on-year to record value added per employment at 25,077 ringgit per person.

"In line with the favorable economic and labor market growth prospects, Malaysia's labor productivity is expected to record sustainable growth in the future, despite the challenging global environment," the DOSM said. (1 ringgit equals 0.22 U.S. dollars)