Malaysia Unemployment Rate

Malaysia’s unemployment rate held steady for the fifth consecutive month at 3.0% in August 2025, remaining at its lowest level since April 2015. The number of unemployed persons declined by 0.3% month-on-month to 520 thousand, with 64.5% having been unemployed for less than three months, while 5% had been jobless for over a year. Meanwhile, employment continued to grow, rising by 0.2% month-on-month to 16.99 million, with the services sector leading the gains, followed by the manufacturing, construction, mining and quarrying, and agriculture sectors. The labor force expanded by 0.2% month-on-month to 17.51 million, pushing the labor force participation rate slightly higher to 70.9% from 70.8% in July. Meanwhile, the number of people outside the labor force rose marginally to 7.20 million, with housework or family responsibilities and schooling or training cited as the main reasons.