2026 ECONOMIC CENSUS TO MEASURE SMES TECH ADOPTION LEVEL AND RESILIENCE – DOSM

By K. Naveen Prabu

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 (Bernama) -- The 2026 Economic Census will assess small and medium enterprises' (SMEs) readiness in terms of technology adoption, said the Statistics Department of Malaysia (DOSM).

Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the five-yearly census will provide a comprehensive picture of technology usage, skilled workforce levels, and SMEs’ digital capabilities in line with the needs of Malaysia's economic development.

“Through this census, we can assess how ready SMEs are in terms of technology adoption, including AI, and whether they have started employing skilled workers,” he told Bernama after attending Bernama TV’s Apa Khabar Malaysia programme today.

The results of the census will also enable the government to evaluate the resilience of SMEs and their relationships with large companies within the economic chain.

“In several industries, large companies play an important role in supporting SMEs, while at the same time SMEs also support the operations of large companies, making this data vital to understand the strengths and interdependence between the two,” he said.

Mohd Uzir said the 2026 census involves some 1.2 million business establishments nationwide and will serve as a benchmark to assess data accuracy collected through monthly and quarterly surveys.

He said the 10-month census, conducted simultaneously nationwide, will also enable DOSM to capture data from the informal sector, which is often difficult to track.

“This informal sector is easy to start and easy to close, especially those that don’t require capital. But they still contribute to the economy, and conducting the census simultaneously will ensure their information is not left out,” he said.

On technical improvements, he said DOSM has released a new Malaysia Standard Industrial Classification (MSIC), which increases the number of five-digit classifications by six per cent to about 1,248 categories.

“We have issued the new MSIC classification, allowing business establishments to be classified accurately according to their respective industries,” Mohd Uzir said.

MSIC is a numerical coding system developed by DOSM to classify economic activities into sectors and subsectors for data collection, organisation, and business analysis.

He also said DOSM is strengthening data integration by combining census information with administrative, trade, and employment data to enhance the accuracy of national statistics.

“With data integration, we can cross-check consistency between data sources and produce more accurate economic statistics,” he said.

DOSM will implement the census starting February next year.

-- BERNAMA