KUALA LUMPUR: Median monthly wages for Malaysia's formal employees increased 5.5 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to RM2,600 at the end of the third quarter (Q3) of 2023, according to the Department of Statistics.
In its latest employee wages statistics for the formal sector released today, the department said male formal employees made up 55.4 per cent of the total formal employees, or 3.70 million people, as of September 2023.
Male formal employees received median monthly wages of RM2,645 in September, reflecting an increase of 5.8 per cent over September 2022.
Female formal employees, who represented 44.6 per cent of the total formal employees (2.98 million persons), earned median monthly wages of RM2,518 in September.
Based on the reported wage statistics by age group, formal employees aged 25-29 made up nearly one-fifth of the total formal employees in September, accounting for 19.9 per cent or 1.33 million persons.
The age group of 65 years and above generates the least number of formal employees with 0.10 million persons or 1.5 per cent.
The age group of 45 to 49 years old received the highest median monthly wages at RM3,500. This age group also maintained the highest median monthly wages in July 2023 (RM3,482) and August 2023 (RM3,500).
In contrast, the group under 20 received the lowest median monthly pay of RM1,500, which remained unchanged for the quarter.
Additionally in September, the mining and quarrying sector recorded the highest median monthly wages of RM5,200 and the highest YoY growth of 16.5 per cent.
The agriculture sector, which employs 1.9 per cent of formal workers, saw a 6.3 per cent annual increase in median monthly pay of RM1,982 in September, the lowest median monthly wages despite showing a 6.3 per cent YoY increase.
The median monthly wage in all states increased positively YoY. In September, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Pulau Pinang exceeded the RM2,600 national median wage.
The lowest median monthly wages for the same period were recorded in Kelantan, Perlis and Sabah, with respective amounts of RM1,600, RM1,627 and RM1,800.
In terms of wage distribution, 34.6 per cent of Malaysian formal employees earned below RM2,000 as of September, marking a drop from 38.1 per cent recorded in the previous year.
Concurrently, 7.5 per cent of formal employees earned monthly wages of RM10,000 and above in September.
The 10th percentile of formal employees earned wages below RM1,500 per month, but experienced a significant monthly wage increase of 10.0 per cent compared to September 2022 (RM1,364).