Malaysia’s labour demand continued to expand in the first quarter of 2026, with total jobs rising to 9.23 million as hiring activity remained resilient across key economic sectors, according to the latest Quarterly Employment Survey released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
DOSM said total labour demand — comprising filled jobs and vacancies — increased from 9.06 million in the corresponding quarter last year.
Filled jobs grew 1.8% year-on-year to 9.03 million from 8.87 million previously, translating into a filled jobs rate of 97.9%.
Meanwhile, job vacancies edged up 0.4% to 194,800 positions compared with 194,100 vacancies a year earlier, representing a vacancy rate of 2.1%.
However, the number of jobs created during the quarter declined marginally by 1.5% year-on-year to 32,700 jobs.
By skills category, semi-skilled jobs continued to dominate Malaysia’s labour market, accounting for more than 60% of overall labour demand indicators.
DOSM reported that the semi-skilled category recorded 5.73 million jobs, up 1.3% year-on-year. Of these, 5.62 million positions were filled, while 107,900 remained vacant.
The category also recorded 21,000 newly created jobs during the quarter, slightly higher than the 20,800 jobs created a year earlier.
Skilled jobs rose 2.6% year-on-year to 2.33 million positions, with 2.28 million filled and 48,700 vacancies recorded.
Despite the increase in demand for skilled workers, jobs created in the category declined 4.2% to 8,600 positions.
Meanwhile, low-skilled jobs increased 2.9% year-on-year to 1.16 million.
Filled positions in the category stood at 1.13 million, while vacancies totalled 38,200 jobs. However, the number of newly created low-skilled jobs fell 8.6% to 3,200 positions.
Across economic sectors, the services sector remained the largest employer, accounting for 52.5% of total jobs or 4.84 million positions.
The manufacturing sector followed with 2.52 million jobs, representing 27.3% of total labour demand, while the construction sector contributed 1.28 million jobs or 13.9%.
The agriculture sector accounted for 502,500 jobs, while mining and quarrying recorded the smallest share at 80,400 jobs.
DOSM also noted that the services sector recorded the largest share of filled jobs at 4.82 million, followed by manufacturing at 2.41 million and construction at 1.25 million.
However, manufacturing continued to account for the majority of job vacancies, with 113,000 openings representing 58% of total vacancies nationwide.
The agriculture sector contributed 32,000 vacancies, while services and construction each recorded around 24,600 vacancies.
In terms of newly created jobs, the services sector led with 15,900 positions, accounting for 48.6% of total jobs created during the quarter.
Manufacturing followed with 11,900 new jobs, while construction created 3,200 positions. Agriculture and mining and quarrying contributed smaller shares of newly created jobs at 1,400 and 200 respectively.
