Kuala Lumpur, March 9 : The number of unemployed persons in January continued to decrease, reaching 596,100, registering a 3.6-per cent unemployment rate, official data showed on Thursday. The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that the country's labour market continued on an upward trend following the current improvement of the country's economic position, in keeping with the expansion of the global economy. Therefore, the number of the labour force in January improved further, increasing by 0.2 per cent month-on-month to 16.76 million persons, Xinhua news agency reported. Meanwhile, the labour force participation rate during the month remained at 69.8 per cent. The DOSM anticipates the labour market to remain stable and expand in the upcoming months. In tandem with the transition phase of the country to the endemic and the reopening of international borders, it foresees Malaysia to be benefitted from the spillover of the increase in the number of tourist arrivals, as well as more productive trade and business activities in Malaysia, which will in turn contributed towards a stable recovery, particularly in the services sector. It expects business activity to continue to grow in early 2023, contributing to more job opportunities, hence encouraging more labour force participation in the market and subsequently strengthening the labour market and improving the country's economic performance. /IANS