Malaysia’s labour market picked up significant pace in 2024, delivering its strongest performance since the pandemic, with key indicators reflecting steady improvement and continued stability projected into 2025, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) reported on Monday.
According to DOSM’s Annual Statistics of the Labour Force, Malaysia 2024, the country’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.2%, falling below the pre-pandemic figure of 3.3% from 2019.
The total number of unemployed individuals decreased to 534,100, largely due to a significant reduction in joblessness among youths aged 15 to 24.
“Concurrently, the labour force increased by 3.3% to 16.90 million persons compared with 16.37 million persons in the previous year. The labour force participation rate (LFPR) also rose to a new record high of 70.6% from 70% in 2023,” according to a statement by the DOSM.
The number of employed individuals also experienced solid annual growth, increasing by 3.5% to 16.37 million in 2024, up from 15.81 million in 2023, according to the report, The Edge Malaysia reports.
“Accordingly, the employment-to-population ratio, which indicates the ability of an economy to create employment, also increased by 0.7 percentage point to 68.4% from 67.7% in 2023,” it said.
In addition, 78.5% of employed individuals in 2024 were categorised as employees, while the number of own-account workers rose to 2.52 million, making up 15.4% of the total workforce.
The majority of workers were in semi-skilled roles, comprising 56.5% of total employment, or around 9.26 million people, followed by 4.94 million in skilled occupations and 2.17 million in low-skilled jobs.
From a sectoral standpoint, the services sector continued to lead in employment, accounting for 65.6% of the total workforce and maintaining its upward trajectory. This was followed by the manufacturing sector at 16.3% and the agriculture sector at 9.0%.
Whereas the construction sector contributed 8.5% to total employment, while the mining and quarrying sector held the smallest share at just 0.5%.
Moreover, the Department reported an improvement in underemployment conditions in 2024, with the number of individuals working less than 30 hours per week, due to the nature of their jobs or lack of available work, declining by 6.1% to 212,500, down from 226,300 in 2023.
As a result, the underemployment rate decreased to 1.3%, compared to 1.4% the previous year.
Youth unemployment dropped to 10.3% in 2024, with the number of jobless youths decreasing by 4.1% to 284,700. Unemployment among adults aged 25 to 64 also saw a slight improvement, easing to 1.8%
Looking ahead, the DOSM anticipates Malaysia’s labour market will remain robust in 2025, supported by steady economic growth, the country’s ASEAN chairmanship, and initiatives such as the ASEAN Villages Network, which aim to boost rural development and enhance workforce skills.