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Malaysia's unemployment rate falls to 2.9% in August

The number of unemployed fell by 8,700 to 511,600, while the rate for people aged 15 to 24 stayed above 10%, DOSM data show.

NewsPublished 20 October 20262 min read

Malaysia's unemployment rate fell to 2.9% in August 2026, from 3.0% in July, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). The figures were released on 9 October.

2.9%Unemployment rateAugust 2026, from 3.0% in July
511,600Unemployed personsDown 8,700 from July
10.1%Youth aged 15 to 24August 2026
Source: DOSM, Labour Force Statistics August 2026, released 9 October 2026.
In short
  • The rate is back at 2.9% after four months at 3.0%.
  • Most people looking for work had been searching for less than three months.
  • People aged 15 to 24 make up more than half of the unemployed.
Unemployment fell back to 2.9% in August
01234Jul3.0%Aug3.0%Sep3.0%Oct3.0%Nov2.9%Dec2.9%Jan2.9%Feb2.9%Mar2.9%Apr3.0%May3.0%Jun3.0%Jul3.0%Aug2.9%
Unemployment rate (%), monthly, July 2025 to August 2026, not seasonally adjusted. Source: DOSM, OpenDOSM dataset lfs_month.

The rate held at 2.9% from November 2025 to March 2026, rose to 3.0% from April to July, and fell back in August.

Fewer out of work, more in work

July 2026August 2026Change
Unemployed520,300511,600−8,700
Actively unemployed412,600405,100−7,500
Inactively unemployed107,700106,500−1,200
Employed16,845,60016,874,400+28,800

The actively unemployed are looking for work. The inactively unemployed have stopped looking because they think no work is available, or are waiting for replies.

Most job searches are short

  • Under three months: 64.2% of the 405,100 people actively looking.
  • Over a year: 5.0%.

Malaysia's unemployment is mainly people between jobs rather than long-term joblessness.

Young people are over half of the unemployed

  • Rate for ages 15 to 24: 10.1%, 7.2 percentage points above the overall rate.
  • Number: 291,300, or 56.9% of everyone unemployed.
  • Change: the youth rate fell 0.1 percentage point from July, the same as the overall rate.

Where unemployment is highest

The latest state figures are for the second quarter of 2026. Sabah had the highest rate at 5.6%, then Labuan at 4.8% and Kelantan at 4.1%. Putrajaya had the lowest, 1.3%.

Data notes

  • Basis: DOSM's headline figures are not seasonally adjusted. The seasonally adjusted rate was also 2.9%.
  • Revisions: DOSM is revising monthly figures from 2020 to 2025 in stages, so earlier months can change.

Next release

DOSM publishes the September figures and the third-quarter report on 11 November 2026. The unemployment rate page has the full series since 1982.

MalaysiaUnemployment rate in MalaysiaThe full series since 1982, states and youth MalaysiaUnderemployment in MalaysiaSkill- and time-related, since 2017 MalaysiaGraduate unemployment in MalaysiaBy age, degree and diploma

Sources

DOSM Labour Force Statistics, August 2026, and OpenDOSM
  1. DOSM, Labour Force Statistics, August 2026 Released 9 October 2026.
  2. OpenDOSM, lfs_month Monthly series from January 2010.