Number of Malaysians in sig economy hits record high of 3m, raising concerns

Industries may struggle to find skilled workers in the long run, weakening the economy

- Zunaira Saieed

KUALA LUMPUR - The number of Malaysians working in the gig economy reached an all-time high of three million in 2023, sparking concerns that there will be a shortage of skilled workers in the long term if the trend continues.

The record numbers, representing more than 17 per cent of the country's workforce, are a marked 25 per cent rise from the 2.4 million self-employed workers recorded in 2021, according to Maybank Investment Bank Research.

The increase is worrying as it comes during a period of low unemployment, when Malaysians should be able to find secure jobs with benefits.

Even more worrying, figures from the Department of Statistics showed that close to 98 per cent of delivery riders in 2022 were aged 30 and below, with about 40 per cent of them secondary school leavers.

In 2021, more than 60 per cent of informal workers in the non-agriculture sector were those with secondary school qualifications.

Socio-Economic Research Centre executive director Lee Heng Guie said industries may struggle to find skilled workers in the long run if young people forgo higher education to work in informal, unregistered businesses that do not cough up money to train workers.

"The country needs to have more skilled workers if it wants to move forward in high-tech industries such as artificial intelligence," he told The Straits Times.

"Unregistered businesses that bring in less investments coupled with the growing number of lowskilled workers in the country will eventually weaken the country's economic growth." According to Maybank Investment Bank Research, self-employed workers are essentially daily income workers such as freelancers, hawkers, petty traders, food stall operators and sole proprietors.