The manufacturing sector maintained its growth momentum in May 2026, with sales expanding 8.9% year-on-year to RM172.7 billion, supported by robust demand for electrical and electronics (E&E) products despite moderating slightly from the 9.1% growth recorded in April.
According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), the increase was primarily driven by the Electrical and Electronics (E&E) products sub-sector, which surged 26.4% compared with a year earlier, significantly higher than the 13.4% growth recorded in April.
The expansion was also supported by the Petroleum, chemical, rubber and plastic products sub-sector, which grew 4.9%, while the Non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products sub-sector increased 6.4%.
On a month-on-month basis, however, manufacturing sales slipped 1.4% from RM175.1 billion recorded in April.
Export-oriented industries, which accounted for 73.1% of total manufacturing sales, recorded stronger growth of 12.5% in May compared with 9.9% in the previous month.
The performance was led by the manufacture of computer, electronics and optical products, which expanded 30.9%, nearly doubling April’s growth of 15.2%.
Other contributors included the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products, which rose 8.6%, while the manufacture of machinery and equipment not elsewhere classified (n.e.c.) increased 5.2%.
Compared with April, export-oriented sales grew 1.9%.
In contrast, domestic-oriented industries posted marginal growth of 0.2%, slowing sharply from 7.4% recorded in April.
The sector was supported mainly by construction-related manufacturing, with basic metals expanding 7.4% and fabricated metal products (except machinery and equipment) increasing 5.9%.
On a monthly basis, domestically oriented industries declined by9.3%.
Employment in the manufacturing sector rose 1.1% year-on-year to 2.4 million workers in May, slightly below the 1.2% increase recorded in April.
The strongest employment gains were recorded in the food, beverages and tobacco sub-sector, which grew 2.1%, followed by non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products at 1.7%, and electrical and electronics products at 1.5%.
Month-on-month, total employment eased 0.2%.
Meanwhile, total salaries and wages paid by manufacturers increased 2.9% to RM8.56 billion, although this represented a marginal 0.05% decline compared with April.
Sales value per employee rose 7.7% year-on-year to RM71,184, while the average monthly salary and wage per employee increased 1.8% to RM3,529.
For the January-May 2026 period, Malaysia’s manufacturing sales reached RM849.3 billion, representing 6.9% growth compared with the corresponding period last year, an improvement from the 3.8% growth recorded during the same period in 2025.
Over the five-month period, manufacturing employment increased 1.1% to 2.4 million workers, while salaries and wages rose 2.6% to RM43.0 billion.
Sales value per employee also improved 5.7% to RM350,082, reflecting continued gains in productivity across the sector.
