Malaysia Jobless Rate Rises to 3.0%

2026-06-11 04:12 By Kyrie Dichosa 1 min. read

Malaysia’s unemployment rate rose to 3.0% in April 2026 after holding steady at 2.9% in the previous five months.

The number of unemployed persons increased by 0.6% from a month earlier to 511.8 thousand.

Meanwhile, total employment continued to expand modestly, rising by 0.1% to 16.82 million, with growth seen across both employees (12.61 million, +0.05%) and own-account workers (3.15 million, +0.2%).

Job gains were led by the services sector, particularly wholesale and retail trade, accommodation and food and beverage services, and information and communication, while manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and mining also recorded increases.

The labour force edged up by 0.1% to 17.33 million, keeping the labour force participation rate unchanged at 70.9%.

The number of persons outside the labour force was broadly steady at 7.10 million, with housework and family responsibilities (43.3%) and schooling or training (40.5%) remaining the main reasons.



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