Anwar (PH-Port Dickson) asked if the numbers were “realistic” as the survey was carried out through phone interviews and not through a field survey.

“It was 5% and now it is 5.3%. This does not include those who are told to go on leave without pay,” he said, adding that the percentage of jobless would be higher if the survey carried out followed the conventional method.

“The total (of unemployed) has to be realistic,” he said.

Anwar had asked the government to state the unemployment rate and estimated number of jobless until the end of the year.

He said the Malaysian Employers Federation had been quoted as saying the majority of companies were suffering, and the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) had estimated that up to 1.4 million Malaysians may become jobless after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Earlier, Saravanan said the unemployment rate stood at 5.0% in April.

“The Statistics Department estimates the unemployment rate to be between 3.5% and 5.5% this year,” he said, adding that the government had carried out various measures  from the start to curb unemployment.

He said the sectors most affected were tourism, manufacturing and services.

To a question by Ahmad Maslan (BN-Pontian) on the measures taken to create jobs for the people, Saravanan said they would have opportunities to be employed in the country’s mega projects.

He said this was because the ban on bringing in foreign workers would only be lifted at the end of the year.

He said projects like the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project would see more Malaysians being employed.

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