JUST 8.6 per cent of formal workers in Malaysia earned a monthly wage of RM10,000 or more in September 2025, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, underscoring the continued concentration of high incomes among a small segment of the workforce.
At the other end of the scale, 8.8 per cent of Malaysian citizens in formal employment earned less than RM1,700 a month during the same period, a proportion that has fallen sharply by 13.5 percentage points compared with September 2024.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said percentile analysis revealed a pronounced wage divide within the formal labour market.
The lowest 10 per cent of formal workers earned RM1,700 or less per month, while those in the 90th percentile received at least RM9,000.
“This difference shows that workers at the 90th percentile receive five times the wages of the lowest wage group, illustrating the wage gap between the highest- and lowest-income earners,” he said in a statement.
Despite the disparity, overall wage levels continued to improve.
The median monthly wage for 7.06 million formal workers stood at RM2,864 in September 2025, representing a year-on-year increase of 4.3 per cent from RM2,745 a year earlier.
The rise in wages coincided with stable employment growth, with the number of formal workers expanding by 3.5 per cent year on year in July, August and September 2025, pointing to sustained resilience in the formal labour market throughout the third quarter of the year.
A gender breakdown showed that men accounted for 55.1 per cent, or 3.89 million, of formal workers in September 2025 and continued to earn a higher median monthly wage than women.
Male formal workers recorded a median wage of RM2,900, while women, who made up 44.9 per cent or 3.17 million of the workforce, earned a median of RM2,800.
By age group, workers aged between 45 and 49 consistently recorded the highest median monthly wages during the third quarter of 2025.
All age categories saw year-on-year increases, with the strongest growth among workers below the age of 20, whose median monthly wage rose to RM1,700 in September 2025, an increase of 13.3 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier.
Across economic activities, every sector registered increases in median monthly wages over the three months of the third quarter.
The mining and quarrying sector continued to post the highest median wage at RM6,600 in September 2025, despite accounting for just 0.6 per cent of total formal employment, reflecting an annual growth of 11.9 per cent.
“Meanwhile, the agriculture sector, which accounts for 1.8 per cent of Malaysian citizens in formal employment, recorded the lowest median monthly wage at RM2,245,” he said.
Regionally, Kuala Lumpur recorded the highest median monthly wage at RM4,064, followed by Selangor at RM3,127 and Penang at RM2,927. The lowest median wages were reported in Kelantan and Perlis at RM1,800, while Sabah and Kedah recorded RM2,000 over the same period. - January 27, 2026
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