Kuala Lumpur: The service sector’s revenue had increased by 1.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to RM435.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2020 (Q4 2020) compared to Q3 2020, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
Chief statistician Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the growth was driven by wholesale and retail trade, food and beverages and accommodation segment, which increased 1.5 per cent to RM351.3 billion, followed by the information and communication and transportation and storage segment, which improved 3.4 per cent to RM61.9 billion.
Meanwhile, year-on-year (y-o-y), total revenue in Q4 2020 decreased by 5.1 per cent to RM23.3 billion, while revenue for year 2020 was down 8.1 per cent y-o-y to RM1.63 billion from RM1.78 billion previously, he said.
Mohd Uzir said the number of persons engaged in the sector decreased by 0.3 per cent q-o-q to 3.7 million, attributing it to the decline in the information and communication sub-sector (-4.4 per cent), followed by transportation and storage sub-sector (-0.8 per cent).
“In terms of y-o-y, the number of persons engaged decreased by 3.4 per cent or 128,705 persons in Q4 2020,” he said in a statement Tuesday.
Salaries and wages paid also showed a decrease of RM25.9 million q-o-q, contributed by the 3.2 per cent q-o-q or RM37.0 million decline in the education segment.
Year-on-year, salaries and wages paid in Q4 2020 recorded a decrease of 4.5 per cent to RM24.7 billion, he said.
Meanwhile, the volume index of services registered an increase of 0.3 per cent q-o-q, from 123.4 points in Q3 2020 to 123.8 points in Q4 2020.
Mohd Uzir attributed the performance to the increase in the wholesale and retail trade, food and beverages and accommodation segment (+1.1 per cent) and business services and finance segment (+0.9 per cent).
In terms of y-o-y, volume index of services declined by 7.1 per cent to 123.8 points in Q4 2020.
“Overall, this index decreased 8.0 per cent in 2020 to 118.6 points from 128.9 points in 2019,” he added.
