Malaysia’s unemployment rate eased to 2.9% in August 2026 from 3.0% in July, as employment continued to expand and the number of jobless persons declined, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
The number of unemployed persons fell by 8,700, or 1.7% month-on-month, to 511,600, from 520,300 in July.
At the same time, the number of employed persons increased by 28,800, or 0.2%, to 16.87 million, compared with 16.85 million in the previous month.
Malaysia’s employment-to-population ratio, which reflects the economy’s ability to generate employment, edged up to 68.9% from 68.8%.
The overall labour force expanded by 20,100 persons to 17.39 million, while the labour force participation rate rose by 0.1 percentage point to 71.0%.
Employees remained the largest category of employed persons, accounting for 74.9% of total employment. Their number increased marginally to 12.63 million from 12.62 million in July.
Own-account workers also increased slightly, rising by 5,300 persons to 3.17 million.
Meanwhile, the number of people outside the labour force declined marginally to 7.11 million.
Housework and family responsibilities remained the largest reason for being outside the labour force, accounting for 43.6%, followed by schooling and training at 40.2%.
The August figures point to continued resilience in Malaysia’s labour market, with employment growth accompanied by a further decline in unemployment.
