FoundificMY
SGMY

Underemployment in Malaysia

How many workers have a job that uses fewer of their skills or hours than they could offer, from DOSM's Labour Force Survey.

DataUpdated 20 October 2026Next update 11 November 20263 min read

Underemployment counts people who have a job but could offer more: more skills, or more hours. The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) measures both every quarter in the Labour Force Survey.

Underemployment at a glance

35.2%Skill-related underemploymentQ2 2026, tertiary-educated workers in lower-skilled jobs
1,948,200People in jobs below their skillsQ2 2026
74.3%Aged 15 to 24Skill-related, Q2 2026
39.5%WomenAgainst 31.3% for men
0.7%Time-related underemploymentUnder 30 hours and wanting more, Q2 2026
37.9%Highest skill-related rate2021 Q1
Source: DOSM, Labour Force Survey Report Q2 2026, released 11 August 2026; OpenDOSM datasets lfs_qtr_sru_sex and lfs_qtr_tru_sex.
  • Skill-related: 35.2% of employed people with tertiary education worked in semi-skilled or low-skilled jobs in Q2 2026, 1,948,200 people.
  • Time-related: 0.7% of employed people worked under 30 hours a week and wanted more work.
  • Highest point: the skill-related rate peaked at 37.9% in Q1 2021, 1.9 percentage points above the latest figure.
  • Next update: the third-quarter report is due on 11 November 2026.
Part 1 · The figures

Underemployment since 2017

Second quarter ofSkill-related ratePersonsTime-related ratePersons
202635.2%1,948,2000.7%121,900
202535.7%1,953,7000.8%140,300
202436.2%1,925,2001.0%157,000
202337.4%1,914,6001.2%186,300
202236.7%1,799,6001.4%212,800
202137.7%1,852,5002.2%329,700
202036.5%1,674,1002.8%413,500
201932.8%1,417,2001.4%204,500
201833.2%1,408,1001.6%231,700
201731.8%1,280,6001.4%195,400
Second quarter of each year, so seasons match. Counts rounded to the nearest hundred. Source: DOSM, OpenDOSM datasets lfs_qtr_sru_sex and lfs_qtr_tru_sex (overall).
  • Skill-related: rose from 31.8% in Q2 2017 to 37.7% in Q2 2021, during COVID-19. It has stayed between 35.2% and 37.4% in the second quarter since, and is at its lowest of that period now.
  • Time-related: peaked at 2.8% in Q2 2020, when many workers had their hours cut, and has fallen to 0.7%.
  • 2025 average: 35.6% skill-related and 0.7% time-related.

Who is underemployed?

AgeTime-relatedSkill-relatedSkill-related, persons
All ages0.7%35.2%1,948,200
15 to 241.9%74.3%476,300
25 to 340.4%40.7%751,100
35 to 440.4%25.8%464,700
45 and over0.8%20.5%256,200
Q2 2026. Time-related: share of employed persons working under 30 hours who want more work. Skill-related: share of employed persons with tertiary education who work in semi-skilled or low-skilled jobs. Source: DOSM, Labour Force Survey Report Q2 2026; OpenDOSM datasets lfs_qtr_tru_age and lfs_qtr_sru_age.

Young workers are the most likely to work below their skill level. 74.3% of tertiary-educated workers aged 15 to 24 were in semi-skilled or low-skilled jobs, against 20.5% of those aged 45 and over.

Skill-relatedPersonsTime-related
Men31.3%914,6000.6%
Women39.5%1,033,6001.0%
All35.2%1,948,2000.7%
Q2 2026. Source: DOSM, OpenDOSM datasets lfs_qtr_sru_sex and lfs_qtr_tru_sex.

Women had a skill-related rate of 39.5% against 31.3% for men, a gap of 8.2 percentage points. Women were also more likely to want more hours: 1.0% against 0.6%.

Underemployment by state

DOSM's 2025 statement names the skill-related rate for some states only.

  • Highest: Kelantan (50.5%), Terengganu (45.1%) and Pahang (42.0%).
  • Lowest: Kuala Lumpur (22.8%), Putrajaya (30.3%) and Pulau Pinang (32.0%).
  • The gap: 27.7 percentage points between Kelantan and Kuala Lumpur.

Graduates

DOSM's Graduates Statistics put skill-related underemployment of graduates at 32.2% in 2024, and 66.0% for those aged 24 and under. The graduate unemployment page has the detail.

Part 2 · How it is measured

What the figures cover

  • Skill-related underemployment: employed people with tertiary education working in semi-skilled or low-skilled occupations, as a share of all employed people with tertiary education.
  • Time-related underemployment: employed people who worked under 30 hours in the reference week because of the nature of their work or too little work, and were able and willing to work more.
  • Source: DOSM's quarterly Labour Force Survey, people aged 15 to 64 in private living quarters.

Questions

What is the underemployment rate in Malaysia?

In Q2 2026, 35.2% of tertiary-educated workers were in semi-skilled or low-skilled jobs (skill-related underemployment), and 0.7% of all employed people wanted more hours (time-related), according to DOSM.

How many graduates work in jobs below their qualification?

1,948,200 tertiary-educated people were in semi-skilled or low-skilled jobs in Q2 2026. Among graduates aged 24 and under, the rate was 66.0% in 2024.

Which state has the highest underemployment?

Of the states DOSM named for 2025, Kelantan had the highest skill-related rate, 50.5%, and Kuala Lumpur the lowest, 22.8%.

MalaysiaUnemployment rate in MalaysiaDOSM monthly figures, states and youth MalaysiaGraduate unemployment in MalaysiaBy age, degree and diploma since 2020 MalaysiaFresh graduate salary in MalaysiaStarting pay bands from the KPT tracer study MalaysiaSalary data in MalaysiaDOSM median and mean pay

Sources

DOSM Labour Force Survey Report Q2 2026 and 2025, OpenDOSM quarterly series, Graduates Statistics 2024
  1. DOSM, Labour Force Survey Report, Second Quarter 2026 Released 11 August 2026.
  2. DOSM, Labour Force Survey 2025 Released 26 June 2026. Annual rates and the states named in the media statement.
  3. OpenDOSM, lfs_qtr_sru_sex, lfs_qtr_tru_sex, lfs_qtr_sru_age, lfs_qtr_tru_age Quarterly series from Q1 2017.
  4. DOSM, Graduates Statistics 2024 Skill-related underemployment of graduates.