Malaysian workers saw steady improvements in pay last year, with both median and mean monthly salaries recording healthy growth, according to the Salaries & Wages Survey Report 2024 released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
The median monthly salary for Malaysian citizens climbed 7.3% to RM2,793 in 2024, up from RM2,602 in the previous year. Meanwhile, the mean monthly salary rose 6.1% to RM3,652, compared to RM3,441 in 2023.
Sectoral Performance
By sector, the Manufacturing industry led gains with a 7.4% increase in mean monthly wages to RM3,278. The Services sector followed with a 5.8% rise to RM3,831, supported by robust growth in education, information and communication, and health and social work activities.
The Mining & quarrying sector continued to offer the highest mean monthly salary at RM5,904, while the Construction and Agriculture sectors recorded RM3,035 and RM2,409 respectively.
Skilled vs Non-Skilled Workers
Skilled employees saw their mean monthly salaries grow by 6.5% (+RM340), though this was slightly slower than the 7.5% increase recorded in 2023.
Semi-skilled workers posted a 5.2% increase (2023: +6.0%), with clerical support workers earning RM2,931, followed by services & sales workers (RM2,561), craft and related trades workers (RM2,510), and plant and machine operators & assemblers (RM2,404).
The low-skilled category saw the fastest growth, with mean monthly wages up 7.4% to RM2,128, compared with RM1,982 in 2023.
State-Level Highlights
At the state level, Putrajaya topped the chart with the highest mean monthly salary at RM5,091, followed by Kuala Lumpur (RM4,782), Selangor (RM4,052), Labuan (RM3,812) and Penang (RM3,787) — all surpassing the national mean of RM3,652.
Real Wages Also Improve
After adjusting for inflation, the real median monthly salary for Malaysians grew 5.4%, from RM1,995 in 2023 to RM2,103 in 2024. The real mean monthly salary also rose 4.2%, from RM2,639 to RM2,750.
