KUCHING: Malaysia’s formal-sector median monthly wage held steady at RM3,027 in March even as the country’s workforce continued to expand.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said the number of Malaysian formal employees rose 3.8 per cent year-on-year to 7.05 million, while the median monthly wage was 0.9 per cent higher than in March last year.
The median wage was unchanged from February after easing from RM3,073 in January.
The wage profile also showed signs of improvement, with the proportion of formal employees earning below RM1,700 a month declining to 7.9 per cent from 9.9 per cent a year earlier.
At the other end of the spectrum, employees in the top 10 per cent earned at least RM11,500 a month, while those in the bottom 10 per cent received RM1,700 or less.
This meant workers in the highest wage bracket earned more than six times those in the lowest.
Across industries, mining and quarrying remained the country’s highest-paying sector, recording a median monthly wage of RM9,678 despite accounting for just 0.5 per cent of Malaysia’s formal workforce.
Agriculture, which represented 1.8 per cent of formal employees, continued to record the lowest median wage at RM2,327. However, the sector posted a healthy 5.8 per cent year-on-year increase, outpacing overall wage growth.
Regionally, Kuala Lumpur remained the highest-paying state with a median monthly wage of RM4,527, followed by Selangor at RM3,445 and Pulau Pinang at RM3,064.
Kelantan recorded the country’s lowest median wage at RM1,827, followed by Perlis at RM1,855 and Sabah at RM2,082.
Employees aged 45 to 49 continued to command the highest median monthly wages throughout the first quarter, recording RM4,156 in January, RM4,145 in February and RM4,100 in March.
All age groups registered positive year-on-year wage growth except employees below the age of 20, whose median monthly wage remained unchanged at RM1,700 since February 2025.
Meanwhile, employees aged between 55 and 59 recorded the strongest annual increase in median wages among all age groups.
By gender, male employees made up 55 per cent of Malaysia’s formal workforce, or 3.88 million people, and earned a median monthly wage of RM3,064.
Female employees accounted for the remaining 45 per cent, or 3.17 million workers, with a median monthly wage of RM3,000.
By ethnicity, Chinese formal employees recorded the highest median monthly wage at RM4,600, followed by Indian employees at RM3,000 and Bumiputera employees at RM2,600.
Employees from other ethnic groups recorded a median wage of RM2,400.
