Wages in Malaysia’s formal sector improved in 2024, with the median monthly salary reaching RM3,045 in December, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia. This marks a 5% increase from November and a 6% rise compared to the previous year.
However, nearly 30% of workers were still earning RM2,000 or less by the end of 2024.
More people working, more money earned
By December 2024, the number of formal workers grew to 6.83 million—a 2.3% increase from 2023. This means more Malaysians are getting official jobs with fixed wages and benefits.
DOSM also noted that men made up most of the formal workforce (55.2%), earning a median salary of RM3,045. Women, who made up 44.8% of the workforce, earned RM3,000.
Women’s wages rose faster than men’s in 2024—5.4% compared to 3.4%.
Older workers and mid-career staff earn the most
Salaries also increased across all age groups.
Workers aged 45–49 earned the highest median wage at RM4,082.
Surprisingly, workers aged 65 and above saw the biggest pay jump, with wages rising 8.3% to RM2,982. Young workers under 20 earned the least, averaging RM1,527.
Mining workers paid the most, agriculture the least
The mining and quarrying sector paid the highest wages at RM7,500, despite employing only a small group of workers.
On the other hand, agriculture workers earned just RM2,382 on average—making it the lowest-paid sector.
Kuala Lumpur leads in wages, Kelantan lags behind
In terms of location, Kuala Lumpur had the highest median wage at RM4,200, followed by Penang (RM3,382) and Selangor (RM3,300).
The lowest wages were recorded in Kelantan (RM1,664), Perlis (RM1,764), and Sabah (RM2,000).
The rich-poor wage gap remains wide
While it’s good news that fewer workers are earning below RM2,000 (down from 31.2% to 29.2%), the gap between the highest and lowest earners is still very large.
The top 10% earned at least RM10,800 a month—more than seven times what the bottom 10% made (RM1,500 or less).
Percentile analysis revealed that the bottom 10 per cent of Malaysian formal employees received monthly wages of RM1,500 or less, while employees in the 90th percentile earned at least RM10,800 per month, reflecting a 5.9 per cent increase from December 2023.
“This disparity illustrates that employee in the 90th percentile earned seven times more than those in the lowest wage group, underscoring the prevailing wage gap between the highest and lowest earners,” it wrote.
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