PETALING JAYA: The statistics department has reported that revenue in the services sector rose 6.9% year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM568.3 billion in the second quarter of 2023 (Q2 2023).
Chief Statistician Uzir Mahidin said the bulk of the revenue was contributed by the wholesale and retail trade, food and beverages, and accommodation segment, which increased 5.9% to RM433.5 billion.
“This is followed by the information and communication, and transportation and storage; and professional, real estate, and administrative and support service segments, which grew by 10.1% and 9.9% to RM79.5 billion and RM35.8 billion, respectively,” he said in a statement today.
Meanwhile, Uzir said e-commerce income recorded RM280.5 billion in Q2 2023, increasing 2.5% y-o-y, but dropping 3.8% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q).
On a quarterly basis, total revenue for services in Q2 2023 rose 1.4% q-o-q or RM8 billion, according to the department.
Meanwhile, the number of persons engaged in the services sector rose 1.7% y-o-y to 4.4 million persons, according to the statement.
The rise is attributed to the wholesale and retail trade sub-sectors which increased by 1.6%, followed by the transportation and storage sub-sector, which rose by 4.3%.
“For q-o-q, the number of persons engaged grew by 0.4%, which amounted to 18,500 persons,” he said.
Meanwhile, salaries and wages paid in the sector registered an increase of RM1.2 billion, or 3.9% y-o-y.
Uzir attributed the growth to the wholesale and retail trade sub-sector, which rose 2% to record RM14 billion, followed by the transportation and storage sub-sector, which increased 6.3% to record RM2.9 billion.
“Meanwhile, for q-o-q comparison, salaries and wages grew 0.8% to register RM31.5 billion in Q2 2023,” he said.