MALAYSIA’S unemployment rate fell to 2.9% in August from 3.0% in July, as the number of unemployed people declined by 8,700 to 511,600, reflecting continued improvement in the labour market.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), in its Labour Force Statistics for August 2026 released today, said the number of employed people increased by 0.2% to 16.87 million from 16.85 million in the preceding month.
The labour force expanded by 0.1% to 17.39 million from 17.37 million, while the labour force participation rate edged up to 71% from 70.9%.
Employees, who accounted for 74.9% of the employed population, increased marginally by 0.1% to 12.63 million in August from 12.62 million in July.
The number of self-employed people also rose by 0.2% to 3.17 million from 3.16 million.
DOSM said active unemployment, comprising people available for work and actively seeking employment, accounted for 79.2% of the total unemployed population. Their number fell by 1.8% to 405,100 from 412,600 in July.
Of those actively seeking work, 64.2% had been unemployed for less than three months, while 5% had been unemployed for more than a year.
The number of inactive unemployed people who believed no jobs were available also declined by 1.2% to 106,500 from 107,700.
Youth unemployment continued to ease, with the rate among those aged 15 to 24 falling by 0.1 percentage point to 10.1%. The number of unemployed people in this age group decreased to 291,300 from 292,500.
For those aged 15 to 30, the unemployment rate also declined by 0.1 percentage point to 6.3%, while the number of unemployed people fell to 394,600 from 404,500.
Meanwhile, the number of people outside the labour force edged down by 4,500, or 0.1%, to 7.11 million in August.
Housework and family responsibilities accounted for the largest share of this group at 43.6%, followed by schooling or training at 40.2%. The remaining 16.2% were outside the labour force for other reasons, including retirement and disability.
DOSM said sustained positive labour market performance continued to support national economic growth.
“Looking ahead, improving worker productivity through skills enhancement and the adoption of technology is important to ensure sustainable economic growth and improve the well-being of the people,” it said. - October 9, 2026
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