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CPS2214 Riyanti S. et al.
Table 3.2: LFPR by marital status, Malaysia, 1982 & 2018
(%)
Male + Female Male Female
Marital status
1982 2018 1982 2018 1982 2018
Never married 63.5 60.5 71.0 67.2 53.8 51.2
Married 66.7 74.4 95.9 92.0 39.2 57.3
Widowed 46.7 53.2 75.3 71.7 42.2 48.1
Divorced/permanently
separated 72.0 82.3 87.2 88.9 66.4 79.1
Source: LFS, DOSM
Table 3.3: LFPR by educational attainment, Malaysia, 1982 & 2018
(%)
Male + Female Male Female
Marital status
1982 2018 1982 2018 1982 2018
No formal education 56.8 55.8 89.6 72.1 44.8 41.8
Primary 69.6 70.7 94.7 89.3 42.3 47.8
Secondary 61.8 68.3 75.7 81.8 43.8 52.4
Tertiary 79.1 68.8 84.3 73.8 70.2 64.3
Source: LFS, DOSM

4. Discussion and Conclusion
Based on the assessment of the LFPR, it was observed that prior to 2013,
female LFPR never manage to surpass 50 per cent. It started to escalate since
2013 to attain 55.2 per cent in 2018. This could largely be attributed to digital
and social media revolution that encouraged new form of work activities
especially entrepreneurship which can be conducted within the comfort of
home and allow female to balance work and family responsibilities. In the
meantime, male LFPR which exceeded 80 per cent most of the time seemed
to experience slight decrease.
From the perspective of age group, the LFRP in 1982 showed a double
peaked pattern at the age group of 20-24, suggesting first entrance into the
labour market and later again was high for the age group of 40-44, signifying
reentrance. However, this was not evident when pattern of female LFPR in 2018
is observed. Instead, female LFPR in 2018 was the highest for age group 25-
29 years old. This could be attributed by longer time taken to complete
education as female embarked on pursuant of higher educational attainment
and delayed marriage. A gradual decline of LFPR detected across the older
age groups could be one of the indications that career took a back step as
motherhood took up the centre stage especially for child bearing and child
rearing.
As for marital status, it is noticed that divorced/permanently separated
female recorded the highest LFPR since this group required financial

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