by RAHIMI YUNUS / pic by RAZAK GHAZALI

HUMAN Resources Ministry (MoHR) sees the issue of new graduates receiving lower pay in 2020 than in 2019 with some getting lower than the minimum wage, as a temporary situation.

Its Minister Datuk Seri M Saravanan (picture) said wages offered by employers through the national employment portal MYFutureJobs in 2020 revealed that 67.3% of job vacancies are within the range of RM2,000 – RM2,499.

Only 4,294 or 8.6% of total vacancies are offered with monthly wages of below RM1,500.

However, he said these vacancies are related to pre-career positions that include interns and apprentices.

Despite being the most affected category, he said job placement for graduates is reported to be the highest.

“The MoHR is confident that the number of graduate jobs and wage rates will improve as the economy moves towards stabilisation,” Saravanan said in a statement today.

He said the share of job placement for graduate-equivalent occupations, namely the professionals, managers, executive and technicians, or PMET, improved from 38% in the third quarter of 2020 (3Q20) to 50.2% in 4Q20.

The minister said the government’s recovery and stimulus packages, coupled with the Covid-19 vaccination plan are expected to contribute to the revival of the economy, business sector and employment market.