PUTRAJAYA, Sept 11 — Malaysia’s unemployment rate remained at 3.0 per cent in July 2026, unchanged from the previous month, with 520,300 people recorded as unemployed, according to the latest Labour Force Statistics released by the Statistics Department (DOSM) today.
DOSM said the labour force increased 0.1 per cent month-on-month to 17.37 million persons in July 2026, from 17.34 million in June, while the labour force participation rate remained unchanged at 70.9 per cent.
The number of employed persons rose marginally by 0.1 per cent to 16.85 million in July, from 16.83 million in June, it said in a statement.
According to the department, the employee category, which accounted for 74.9 per cent of total employment, increased 0.1 per cent to 12.62 million persons, while the number of self-employed persons rose 0.3 per cent to 3.16 million.
It said the services sector remained the main contributor to employment in July, driven by activities in arts, entertainment and recreation; accommodation and food and beverage services; as well as finance and insurance or takaful activities.
Employment also increased across all other sectors, namely agriculture, mining and quarrying, manufacturing and construction, DOSM said.
Meanwhile, it said active unemployed persons, or those who were available for work and actively seeking employment, accounted for 79.3 per cent of the total unemployed, with the number rising 0.4 per cent to 412,600.
The department said 63.5 per cent of the active unemployed had been without work for less than three months, while 5.4 per cent had been unemployed for more than one year.
It said the unemployment rate among youths aged 15 to 24 remained at 10.2 per cent, with 292,500 unemployed persons, while the unemployment rate for those aged 15 to 30 rose to 6.4 per cent from 6.3 per cent in June.
DOSM said Malaysia’s labour market remained strong and resilient in July 2026, with sustained employment growth and a low unemployment rate.
“However, economic structural changes and technological advancements underscore the need to continuously strengthen human capital development to ensure the national workforce remains competitive and able to meet future labour market demands,” the statement said.
