An Analysis of Youth Unemployment in Malaysia: Challenges & Solutions

This report examines the issue of youth unemployment in Malaysia, highlighting the adverse impacts of a struggling economy on young people, particularly graduates. It presents data indicating a persistent youth unemployment rate above 10% in recent years, and discusses underemployment issues where graduates are employed in roles that do not match their skill sets, leading to low wages and poor career prospects. The report attributes these challenges to factors such as skill mismatches, poor communication skills, and inadequate information about job opportunities. It proposes solutions, including fostering greater collaboration between companies and educational institutions to address skill gaps, incentivizing companies to offer apprenticeship opportunities, and enhancing the government's role in providing job information to the youth. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of these measures in addressing the challenges faced by young Malaysians in the labor market.

Running head: YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN MALAYSIA
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Youth Unemployment in Malaysia
Student’s name
Professor
Course
Date

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Increase in Youth Unemployment
The Malaysian economy adversely impacts the youngsters. Foremost, moderating
economic growth and wary business sentiments have restrained the companies from increasing
their workforce. As a result, the unemployment among the youths, especially the graduates is on
the rise. The graduates are having a difficult time in securing employment in this economy where
the firms have scaled back on hiring.
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
9.9750000000000110.349 10.465 10.395 11.282 12.122
Youth unemployment in Malaysia
Youth unemployment in
Malaysia
%
Figure 1: Source: The World Bank
The data from figure one exhibits that the issue of youth unemployment in Malaysia is
becoming problematic. For the past five years, youth unemployment has remained above10
percent. The unemployment among this category of the population was high in 2015 and 2016,
that is, 11.82% and12.12% respectively (The World Bank, 2017).

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN MALAYSIA
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According to the Bank Negara Malaysia, the youths are most vulnerable to the economy’s
trends. They are last to be employed and first to be rendered redundant. Such adverse experience
among the youths in this country is caused by lack of experience, poor communication skills and
lack of sufficient information about available opportunities in the labor market (Star Media
Group Berhad, 2017).
Underemployment
Even those youths that have managed to get employment are facing the issue of
underemployment. Most of the degree holders are engaged in occupations that do not require
such level of educational attainment. This scenario shows that these youths are underutilized,
receive low wages and also encounter other lousy career circumstances. A study by Bank Negara
Malaysia reveals that underemployment in Malaysia is rising because Malaysian economy is
facing challenges of drawing high-quality investments that would provide high-skilled and high-
paying jobs for the graduates ( The Coverage Malaysia, 2015).
As a result of unemployment and underemployment, most of the Malaysians youths are
living in poverty. Researches show that 67 percent of the youths receive a monthly salary that is
below 1000 RM whereas 21 percent get between 1000 RM and 1500 RM ( The Coverage
Malaysia, 2015). This scenario demonstrates that the youths in this country face difficulties in
obtaining essential needs and services.
Solutions to Challenges Facing the Youngsters
Address Skill Mismatch

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Firms and employers in Malaysia overwhelmingly consent that the quality and content of
education in the country do not sufficiently prepare the students to exploit the opportunities in
the industry. Therefore, addressing disparities in skill mismatch is essential in ensuring that the
issue of unemployment among the youngsters is brought under control.
Firstly, there is a need for greater collaboration between the companies and institutions of
higher learning in enhancing the quality and content of education. For instance, industry experts
should be involved in developing and improving university curricula. They should also be
included in teaching short courses at colleges and universities, supporting final year projects, as
well as participating as board members of university education institutions. Such efforts will
assist the students to acquire the necessary technical and soft skills needed for a particular field
in an economy.
Additionally, the government should put measures in place to incentivize more firms to
offer apprenticeship opportunities to scholars in diverse fields of study. This program can be
achieved by providing tax incentives to companies that give attachment and internship
opportunities to the students. With a highly and well-educated workforce, Malaysia can also
attract high-quality investments that will provide top paying jobs to the graduates and thus solve
the issue of underemployment and poor remunerations.
Providing Information
According to the Bank Negara Malaysia, poor information in Malaysian labor market is
one of the factors that increase youth unemployment in the country (Star Media Group Berhad,
2017). Addressing this problem will help minimize the issue youths face. Hence, the government

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should take a more proactive role in ensuring that the youths are informed about the available job
opportunities. This scheme can be attained by establishing sufficient job information centers.

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References
The Coverage Malaysia. (2015, December 8th). 400,000 Young Malaysians Unemployed and 88% of
Youth Earning Below RM 1500? Retrieved October 20th, 2017, from
https://thecoverage.my/lifestyle/youth/400-000-young-malaysians-are-poor-and-unemployed/
Star Media Group Berhad. (2017, March 27th). Young and jobless . Retrieved October 20th, 2017, from
http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2017/03/27/young-and-jobless/
The World Bank. (2017). Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (modeled ILO
estimate). Retrieved October 20th, 2017, from
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.1524.ZS?end=2016&locations=MY&start=2011