PUTRAJAYA, Nov 20 — Labour productivity per hour worked rose 3.8 per cent to RM45.1 in the third quarter of 2025, according to the latest Labour Productivity Statistics released by the Malaysian Statistics Department (DOSM) today.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the national economy grew 5.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, as compared to 4.4 per cent in the preceding quarter, while the total hours worked increased by 1.3 per cent to 9.8 billion hours (Q2 2025: 1.0 per cent, 9.7 billion hours).
“The number of employed persons in the third quarter of 2025 increased to 17.0 million persons, indicating year-on-year growth of 1.5 per cent (Q2 2025: 16.8 million persons, 1.6 per cent), while labour productivity per employment increased 3.6 per cent to record value added per employment at RM26,052 per person (Q2 2025: 2.8 per cent, RM24,893 per person),” he said in a statement today.
Sectoral labour productivity was measured as value added per hour worked for this quarter, and was supported by growth across all sectors, led by construction at 10.2 per cent, followed by mining and quarrying at 9.7 per cent, manufacturing at 4.2 per cent, services at 2.9 per cent, and agriculture at 1.3 per cent.
The performance in labour productivity per hour worked for the services sector in the third quarter of 2025 was attributed to the expansion across all subsectors, except for finance and insurance (-2.4 per cent) and utilities (-0.03 per cent).
Uzir added that other services drove the overall performance by posting a 5.6 per cent growth, followed by real estate and business services (5.5 per cent), food and beverages and accommodation (5.4 per cent), transportation and storage (3.6 per cent), wholesale and retail trade (3.4 per cent), and information and communication (2.0 per cent).
In the context of labour productivity measured by value added per employment, he said different sectors showed varying levels of improvement during this quarter.
The construction sector led the overall performance, posting a 10.8 per cent increase, followed by mining and quarrying at 8.9 per cent, manufacturing at 3.5 per cent, services at 2.8 per cent, and agriculture at 0.5 per cent.
Uzir noted that Malaysia’s labour productivity is well positioned for a resilient, positive outlook, with growth across all sectors of the economy, driven by stable economic conditions and labour market reforms.
“Therefore, the strategy in human capital development should be strengthened by continuous investment in digital transformation, communication, and analytics, as future productivity gains rely heavily on skills development and technology adoption,” he said.
