Unemployment rates in Penang will reach an all-time high after March, when the full impact of the global economic crisis hits the country.

The Penang government anticipates retrenchment rates to soar as companies take urgent measures to cut down operational costs.

"Since the financial terms of many companies end on March 31, 2009 employers will only reconfigure their employment and wage structures after that," said the state government's investor relations co-ordinator, Jeff Ooi.