Revenue for the services sector in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2021 grew by 5.3 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to RM460 billion with an annual value amounting to RM1.7 trillion, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).
In a statement today, chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the increase in the services sector was driven by wholesale and retail trade, food and beverages, and accommodation segment, which increased 5.1 per cent to RM370.1 billion.
“Transportation and storage segment went up by 8.2 per cent to RM67 billion, while private health, private education and arts, entertainment and recreation segment went up by 6.5 per cent to RM14.3 billion,” he said.
For quarterly comparison, total revenue in the Q4 of 2021 surged 17.7 per cent or RM69 billion, propelled by wholesale and retail trade, and transportation and storage sub-sectors, which improved 17.8 per cent and 26.3 per cent respectively.
Mohd Uzir noted that the annual revenue of the services sector for 2021 which recorded RM1.7 trillion, had not yet surpassed the revenue of 2019 of RM1.8 trillion.
However, the information and communication, and private health sub-sectors had surpassed the 2019 pre-pandemic performance by 10.5 per cent and six per cent respectively.
On e-commerce income, Mohd Uzir said the segment recorded RM290.3 billion, an increase of 18.3 per cent y-o-y in Q4 of 2021.
For quarterly comparison, the income of e-commerce rose four per cent, driven by the manufacturing and services sectors.
In line with the growth, the overall e-commerce income performance in 2021 recorded RM1.1 trillion, an increase of 21.8 per cent compared to 2020.
Mohd Uzir added that the number of persons engaged in the e-commerce sector was 3.7 million, growing by 52,077 persons or 1.4 per cent y-o-y, attributed by the wholesale and retail trade sub-sector, followed by the transportation and storage sub-sectors.
“The number of persons engaged also increased by 1.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 71,021 persons compared to the previous quarter,” he said.
On salaries and wages paid, it registered an increase of RM303.7 million or 1.2 per cent y-o-y, attributed by the wholesale and retail trade sub-sector, accompanied by the transportation and storage sub-sector.
For quarterly comparison, salaries and wages grew 3.8 per cent to RM25 billion in Q4 of 2021.
Meanwhile, in a separate statement, he said the Volume Index of Services for Q4 of 2021 increased by 3 per cent compared with a drop of 7.5 per cent in Q3.
The acceleration in the index in Q4, primarily reflected an upturn of the information and communication, and transportation and storage segment of 9.4 per cent with 138.1 points from 126.3 points in the same quarter of last year.
He added that the leading contributors were transportation and storage, which increased by 12.3 per cent, and information and communication which rose by 8 per cent.
Although finance and insurance increased 3.8 per cent, real estate and professional, scientific and technical, and administrative and support services sub-sector shrank 13.4 per cent and 3.9 per cent in Q4 2021.
For quarterly comparison, the Volume Index of Services advanced by 12 per cent in Q4 of 2021, rebounding sharply from a 2.3 per cent contraction in Q3.
“Volume index in 2021 rose 1.6 per cent, compared to an 8 per cent contraction in 2020. The main contributor was information and communication, and transportation and storage segment which recorded a positive growth of 130.2 points, an increase of 5 per cent y-o-y,” said Mohd Uzir.
The business services and finance segment recorded 123.0 points, rose 2.7 per cent, while wholesale and retail, accommodation and food and beverages recorded a small increase of 0.4 per cent.
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