Only one out of every ten formal workers in Malaysia earn RM9,200 or more each month, according to the latest wage update by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
In contrast, the bottom 10% take home RM1,664 or less, highlighting a clear wage gap across the workforce.
DOSM also reported that 10.4% of formal employees earned below RM1,700 in June 2025, although this share has reduced compared to the previous year.
Overall, the highest earners are still taking home five times more than the lowest income group.
Median wages & workforce on the rise
Malaysia’s median monthly wage in June 2025 recorded a 4.3% year-on-year (YoY) increase, while the number of formal employees climbed 3.5% to 6.97 million people.
Monthly median wage growth during this period was as follows:
- April 2025: +3.6%
- May 2025: +5.4%
- June 2025: +4.3%
As for wages based on gender, it was:
- Male employees: 55.1% (3.84 million), median wage RM2,900
- Female employees: 44.9% (3.13 million), median wage RM2,800
All age groups also recorded wage increases as follows:
- Below 20 years old: highest growth, RM1,700 median wage, up by 13.3%
- Ages 45–49: highest median wage overall at RM3,800
The report also revealed that the mining and quarrying sector had the highest wage growth rate (10.2%), where the median wage is RM6,500, while the agriculture sector recorded the lowest wage growth rate (10%) with a median wage of RM2,200.
KL leads, Kelantan remains lowest
Only three states surpassed the national median wage of RM2,864:
- Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur – RM4,064
- Selangor – RM3,145
- Pulau Pinang – RM2,927
As for states with lowest median wages, they were:
- Kelantan – RM1,764
- Perlis – RM1,800
- Sabah and Kedah – RM2,000
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