Average formal sector wage rises to RM3,167 in December 2025, says DOSM

KUALA LUMPUR, May 1 — The average monthly wage for formal employees rose to RM3,167 in December 2025, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s Q4 statistics on employee wages (formal sector).

The report said the wage growth marks a four per cent increase from RM3,045 in December 2024.

It added that the increase reflects continued growth in the formal employment sector, which recorded a year-on-year rise of 3.6 per cent, bringing the total number of formal employees to 7.08 million.

Wage growth was consistent throughout the fourth quarter of 2025, with median monthly wages rising by 4.3 per cent in October and November, followed by a four per cent increase in December.

Gender disparities in median wages remain evident, with male formal employees making up 55.1 per cent of the workforce, or about 3.9 million workers, earning an average monthly wage of RM3,167.

In comparison, female employees, who make up 44.9 per cent (3.18 million), recorded a median wage of RM3,120.

In terms of ethnicity, Bumiputera formal employees recorded a median monthly wage of RM2,627, while Chinese employees earned RM4,767. Indian employees recorded a median wage of RM3,120 in December 2025.

Among age groups, employees aged 45 to 49 recorded the highest median wages in the last quarter, with December figures at RM4,245.

Employees below the age of 20 saw the largest increase, with a median wage of RM1,700 — up 11.3 per cent from the previous year.

All sectors recorded upward adjustments in median monthly wages during the last quarter.

The mining and quarrying sector, although accounting for just 0.5 per cent of total formal employment, recorded the highest median wages at RM7,900.

In contrast, the agriculture sector, which makes up 1.8 per cent of the workforce, recorded the lowest median wage at RM2,564, though it still posted a year-on-year increase of 7.6 per cent.

Regionally, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur recorded the highest median monthly wage at RM4,391, followed by Pulau Pinang at RM3,500 and Selangor at RM3,400.

At the other end, the lowest median wages were recorded in Kelantan (RM1,800), Perlis (RM1,864) and Sabah (RM2,045).

The report also noted that 8.4 per cent of Malaysia’s formal employees earned below RM1,700 in December 2025, a significant drop of 12.5 percentage points from December 2024.

Additionally, percentile analysis showed that the bottom 10 per cent of employees earned RM1,700 or less, while those in the 90th percentile earned at least RM11,122 monthly.