KUALA LUMPUR, 24 August 2025 — Malaysia’s labour market is expected to remain resilient heading into the third quarter of 2025, buoyed by steady domestic demand and sustained policy support, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). The agency highlighted that the continued momentum underscores the country’s transformation into a technologically advanced, high‑income, and inclusive economy.
In the second quarter (Q2 2025), the labour force expanded by 2.7% year-on-year to 17.37 million individuals, nudging the labour force participation rate to 70.8%. Employment followed suit, rising 2.9% to 16.85 million, while the employment-to-population ratio inched up to 68.7%. Unemployment eased as well, with jobless figures dropping 4.4% (or 23,700 individuals), bringing the rate down to 3.0% from 3.2% a year earlier.
Underemployment also saw improvements: those working less than 30 hours per week declined sharply by 10.7% to 241,000, reducing the time-related underemployment rate to 0.8%. Meanwhile, skill-related underemployment—among tertiary-educated workers—dipped 0.7 percentage points to stand at 35.6%.
On the demand side, job availability continued to grow. Total jobs increased by 1.6%, reaching 9.1 million, with filled roles also rising 1.6% to 8.9 million. Job vacancies ticked up to approximately 194,900 (up 1.8%), and newly created positions in the economic sector grew marginally by 0.2% to 31,900.
Economic performance provides a compelling backdrop: Malaysia’s GDP climbed 4.4% in Q2 2025, aligning closely with job growth. Labour productivity—measured by value added per employed person—grew by 2.8% to RM24,887, while total hours worked rose 3.4% to 9.76 billion hours. On a per-hour basis, productivity also increased by 3.4% to RM43.20.
DOSM attributed this sustained strength to the economy’s adaptability and the deepening connection between domestic activity and labour market dynamics
