KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — Jobstreet said the Malaysian job market appeared resilient in the face of a global supply crisis, as firms continue to show keenness in hiring despite the slight increase in the official unemployment rate.

Job ads on its platform increased by 33 per cent year-on-year as employers appear to be actively looking for talent across the market, Southeast Asia’s largest online employment and career recruitment platform said in a statement today, in line with the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s data that suggests Malaysia’s labour market remains broadly resilient.

“Jobstreet’s platform data reflects continued hiring demand. In H1 2026, job ads increased by 33 per cent year-on-year, showing that employers are still actively looking for talent across the market,” said Nicholas Lam, managing director, Jobstreet by SEEK Malaysia.

Demand remains broad. 

Manufacturing, transport and logistics accounted for the largest share of job ads at 12 per cent, followed by accounting at 11 per cent, sales at 10 per cent, engineering at 9 per cent, and administration and office support at 8 per cent, the platform said citing its internal data.

At the same time, DOSM reported that skill-related underemployment remained at 35.2 per cent.

Lim said this points to an ongoing skills-matching challenge: jobs are available, but workers may not always have the right skills for where demand is growing.

“For jobseekers, this makes it increasingly important to understand where opportunities are, build relevant and transferable skills, and position their experience towards areas of demand,” he said.

“For employers, clearer skills requirements and looking beyond traditional qualifications can help widen the available talent pool.”

The labour force expanded by 0.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, increasing by 43.7 thousand persons to 17.28 million persons, up from 17.23 million persons in the January to March period, DOSM said.

The Labour Force Participation Rate remained unchanged at 70.9 per cent, the same rate recorded in the preceding quarter.