Malaysia's labour market continued its positive momentum in 2025, with the number of monthly salaries & wages recipients reaching 12.01 million persons (2024: 11.96 million persons). Malaysian citizens accounted for 10.38 million persons or 86.4 per cent of all full-time paid employees. On the same note, the mean monthly salaries & wages for citizens rose by 4.1 per cent to RM3,803 compared to RM3,652 in 2024. The median monthly salaries & wages also increased by 5.3 per cent to RM2,940 (2024: RM2,793).

Services sector representing 71.5 per cent was the primary contributor to an increase in the number of wage recipients, went up 1.8 per cent to 7.42 million persons. Meanwhile, Mining and Quarrying remained the highest mean monthly salaries & wages at RM6,175, followed by Services (RM3,993), Manufacturing (RM3,357), Construction (RM3,188), and Agriculture (RM2,575).

Skilled employees encompassed 36.6 per cent of the total wage recipients, registering the highest mean monthly salaries & wages at RM5,799 (2024: RM5,582). This was followed by semi-skilled which posted a growth rate of 4.2 per cent to RM2,714 (2024: RM2,604; 5.2%), with a share of 55.6 per cent. Likewise, low-skilled category edged up by 2.6 per cent to RM2,184 compared to RM2,128 in the previous year.

Male wage recipients registered 6.08 million persons or equivalent to 58.6 per cent of total Malaysian citizens paid employees. The mean monthly salaries & wages for males increased at a higher rate of 4.3 per cent to RM3,921 in comparison with females, which expanded by 3.9 per cent to RM3,635 (2024: Male: RM3,759; Female: RM3,499).

Selangor posted the highest percentage share of wage recipients at 25.6 per cent of the total Malaysian citizens paid employees, followed by Johor (13.6%) and Sarawak (7.6%). Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya recorded the highest mean monthly salaries & wages at RM5,417, while Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur at RM4,955 and Selangor, RM4,258. Five states showed mean monthly salaries & wages above the national level, such as Wilayah Persekutuan Putrajaya, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Pulau Pinang (RM3,912) and Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan (RM3,887).