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Malaysia: Services sector revenue rises 1.7% in Q4
PETALING JAYA: The services sector’s revenue increased 1.7% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to RM435.9bil in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4) compared to Q3, said the Department of Statistics.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin (pic) said the growth was driven by the wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage (F&B) and accommodation segment, which increased 1.5% to RM351.3bil, followed by the information and communications, and transportation and storage segments, which improved 3.4% to RM61.9bil.
Meanwhile, year-on-year (y-o-y), total revenue in Q4 decreased 5.1% to RM23.3bil, while revenue for 2020 was down 8.1% y-o-y to RM1.63bil from RM1.78bil previously, he said.
Mohd Uzir said the number of persons engaged in the sector decreased by 0.3% q-o-q to 3.7 million, attributing it to the decline in the information and communications sub-sector (-4.4%), followed by the transportation and storage sub-sector (-0.8%).
“In terms of y-o-y, the number of persons engaged decreased by 3.4% or 128,705 persons in Q4, ” he said in a statement.
Salaries and wages paid also showed a decrease of RM25.9mil q-o-q, contributed by the 3.2% q-o-q or RM37.0mil decline in the education segment.
Year-on-year, salaries and wages paid in Q4 recorded a decrease of 4.5% to RM24.7bil, he said.
Meanwhile, the volume index of services registered an increase of 0.3% q-o-q, from 123.4 points in Q3 to 123.8 points in Q4.
Mohd Uzir attributed the performance to the increase in the wholesale and retail trade, F&B and accommodation segment (+1.1%) and business services and finance segment (+0.9%).
In terms of y-o-y, the volume index of services declined by 7.1% to 123.8 points in Q4. “Overall, this index decreased 8.0% in 2020 to 118.6 points from 128.9 points in 2019, ” he added.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s wholesale and retail trade contracted by 5.9% for the whole of 2020 – a historical low, said the Statistics Department. In the period under review, wholesale and retail trade declined by 0.3% y-o-y to RM115.5bil, said Mohd Uzir.
He said retail trade declined 2.0% y-o-y or RM0.9bil to RM46.8bil in December 2020, while wholesale trade also recorded a decrease of RM0.3bil or 0.6% y-o-y to RM55.3bil. ─ Bernama
Source: https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2021/02/10/services-sector-revenue-rises-17-in-q4