Overview

• The number of employed persons continued its upward trend in January 2026, edging up by 0.04 per cent (+7.1 thousand persons) to 16.77 million persons, compared with 16.76 million persons in December[r] 2025. The employment-to-population ratio, which reflects the economy’s capacity to generate jobs, rose by 0.1 percentage points to 68.8 per cent in January 2026, compared to 68.7 per cent in December[r] 2025.

• The Services sector continued to record increases in the number of employed persons during the month, largely in Wholesale & retail trade, Accommodation and food & beverage service activities, as well as Transportation & storage activities. The Agriculture, Manufacturing, Construction and Mining & quarrying sector also posted positive growth in employment.

• The employees’ category made up 75.1 per cent of the total employed persons in January 2026. This category recorded a slight increase of 0.03 per cent (+4.3 thousand persons), reaching 12.59 million persons compared to 12.58 million persons in December[r] 2025. Similarly, the number of own-account workers also improved, with a rise of 0.1 per cent (+2.4 thousand persons) to 3.13 million persons, up from 3.12 million persons in the previous month.

• During the month, the number of unemployed persons rose slightly to 509.6 thousand persons with an addition of 0.3 per cent (+1.6 thousand persons) from 508.0 thousand persons in December[r] 2025. January’s unemployment stood at 2.9 per cent, as in the previous month.

• The labour force continued to trend up in January 2026, increasing by 0.1 per cent (+8.7 thousand persons) to 17.28 million persons (December[r] 2025: 17.27 million persons). The labour force participation rate (LFPR) for January rose 0.1 percentage points to record 70.9 per cent, compared to 70.8 per cent in the previous month.

• The number of persons outside the labour force during the month showed a decline of 0.4 per cent (-27.0 thousand persons) to 7.11 million persons (December[r] 2025: 7.13 million persons). The main reason for being outside the labour force was due to housework/ family responsibilities, with a share of 43.3 per cent, followed by individuals engaged in the schooling/ training category at 40.4 per cent.

Note: [r]- The monthly Labour Force Survey statistics for December 2025 were revised based on the latest current population estimates.

The full publication of the Labour Force Report, January 2026 can be downloaded through eStatistik Portal

Released by:

DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS MALAYSIA

11th March 2026

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