INTRODUCTION

The Salaries & Wages Report presents salaries & wages statistics for 2019. The survey was carried out from January to December 2019 using household approach covering all states in Malaysia. The salaries & wages statistics presented in this summary of findings cover Malaysia citizens only. 

The main objective of this survey is to collect information on monthly salaries & wages from the full-time equivalent principal occupation of paid employees in the public and private sectors. The main statistics reported are median and mean monthly salaries & wages according to demographic and socio-economic characteristics which include sex, age group, educational attainment, highest certificate obtained, strata, state, occupation, industry, sector and ethnic.

MEDIAN AND MEAN MONTHLY SALARIES & WAGES OF EMPLOYEES

Based on the findings of the survey, the number of recipients of salaries & wages was 9.2 million persons in 2019, rose 5.0 per cent from 8.8 million persons in 2018. During the same period, median monthly salaries & wages recorded an increase from RM2,308 to RM2,442 (5.8%). Meanwhile, the mean monthly salaries & wages increased from RM3,087 to RM3,224 (4.4%) within the same period. 

Exhibit 1:

Framework on analysis of monthly salaries & wages, Malaysia, 2018 and 2019

MONTHLY SALARIES & WAGES OF EMPLOYEES BY SEX

According to the findings of the survey by sex, the median and mean monthly salaries & wages for male employees was always higher than female except for median in 2016 that shows the value for male and female were the same.

In 2019, the median monthly salaries & wages received by male employees was RM2,477 and female employees RM2,370, increased 5.8 per cent and 6.4 per cent respectively as compared to 2018. 

The mean monthly salaries & wages for male employees increased by 4.1 per cent to RM3,304  and female employees increased by 5.0 per cent to RM3,108 as compared to the previous year.

Exhibit 2:

Median and mean monthly salaries & wages of employees by sex,
Malaysia, 2015 - 2019

MONTHLY SALARIES & WAGES OF EMPLOYEES BY STRATA

From these findings, it was found that the growth rate of median monthly salaries & wages of employees in both urban and rural areas were increasing from 2015 until 2019.

The median monthly salaries & wages of employees in urban increased to RM2,565 at the rate of 6.2 per cent as compared to employees in rural increased to RM1,560 at the rate of 5.3 per cent.

Meanwhile, the mean monthly salaries & wages showed a reversing trend whereby percentage change rate of salaries & wages in rural was higher (6.0%) as compared to employees in urban areas (4.0%) for the year 2019. 

Exhibit 3:

Median and mean monthly salaries & wages of employees by strata,
Malaysia, 2015 - 2019

Detailed information regarding this report can be accessed through the eStatistik application in the Department of Statistics, Malaysia website, www.dosm.gov.my.

Released By:

DATO' SRI DR. MOHD UZIR MAHIDIN
CHIEF STATISTICIAN MALAYSIA
DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS, MALAYSIA
 DrUzir_Mahidin      Dr_Uzir

17 September 2020

 

Contact person:

Mohd Yusrizal Ab Razak
Public Relation Officer
Strategic Communication and International Division
Department of Statistics, Malaysia
Tel : +603-8885 7942
Fax : +603-8888 9248
E-mail : yusrizal.razak[at]dosm.gov.my