Malaysian labor demand grows 1.7% in Q2 2026, services sector leads

Malaysia's labor market demonstrated robust growth in the second quarter of 2026, with labor demand expanding by 1.7% to reach a total of 9.25 million job positions. This increase, detailed in the Department of Statistics Malaysia's (DOSM) "Second Quarter 2026 Labour Force Statistics," signifies a rise of 152,300 positions compared to the same period in the previous year.

The services sector emerged as the primary driver of this growth, recording a 2.4% increase in job positions. It continues to be the largest contributor to filled positions, accounting for 53.4% or 4.83 million jobs. The manufacturing sector followed, representing 26.7% (2.42 million jobs), with the construction sector at 13.8% (1.25 million jobs).

Analysis of filled positions by skill category reveals that semi-skilled workers dominate the workforce, making up 62.2% or 5.63 million jobs. Skilled workers accounted for 25.4% (2.30 million jobs), while low-skilled workers represented the smallest portion at 12.4% (1.13 million jobs).

Despite the overall growth in demand, job vacancies saw a marginal increase of 0.4% year-on-year, totaling 195,700 positions. The manufacturing sector reported the highest number of vacancies, with 114,000 positions, particularly within the electrical, electronic, and optical products subsector. The agricultural sector followed with 30,400 vacancies, and construction with 26,500.

Within the vacancies, semi-skilled positions constituted the largest share at 54.8% (107,300), followed by skilled (25.7%) and low-skilled (19.5%) categories. The creation of new jobs saw a slight decrease of 1.2% year-on-year, with 31,500 positions created, primarily within the services sector, driven by wholesale and retail trade.