Malaysia’s formal sector employees earned a median monthly wage of RM3,027 in March 2026, according to the latest data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
The figure refers to Malaysian citizens working in the formal sector, such as registered companies, government bodies and organisations where employment is officially recorded.
A median wage is the middle figure, meaning half of the employees earned more than RM3,027 while the other half earned less. It should not be confused with the average wage.
Number of formal employees increases to 7.05 million
According to DOSM’s Employee Wages Statistics (Formal Sector) First Quarter 2026 report, Malaysia had 7.05 million formal employees in March.
This represented an increase of 3.8% compared to March 2025.
Male employees made up 55% of the total, or approximately 3.88 million people. Their median monthly wage stood at RM3,064.
Female employees, meanwhile, accounted for 45%, or around 3.17 million people, and recorded a median monthly wage of RM3,000.
Employees aged 45 to 49 earn the highest median wage
Employees aged between 45 and 49 continued to record the highest median monthly wage throughout the first quarter of 2026.
Their median wage stood at RM4,156 in January, RM4,145 in February and RM4,100 in March.
Almost every age group recorded year-on-year wage growth in March, with employees aged between 55 and 59 seeing the largest increase.
However, the median monthly wage for workers below the age of 20 remained unchanged at RM1,700 since February 2025.
Mining workers record the highest median wage
Among the industries, the mining and quarrying sector recorded the highest median monthly wage at RM9,678.
However, the sector accounted for only 0.5% of Malaysia’s formal employees.
The agriculture sector recorded the lowest median wage at RM2,327. Despite this, the figure was still 5.8% higher compared to the same period last year.
Agriculture workers made up 1.8% of formal employees.
Kuala Lumpur records highest median wage
Kuala Lumpur had the highest median monthly wage among all states and federal territories at RM4,527.
It was followed by:
- Selangor at RM3,445
- Penang at RM3,064
On the other end, the three lowest median wages were recorded in:
- Kelantan at RM1,827
- Perlis at RM1,855
- Sabah at RM2,082
Top 10% earn more than six times the lowest-paid group
DOSM also found that 7.9% of Malaysian formal employees earned below RM1,700 per month in March 2026.
This was an improvement from March 2025, with the proportion falling by two percentage points.
The bottom 10% of formal employees earned RM1,700 or less per month. In comparison, the top 10% earned at least RM11,500 monthly.
This means those in the top wage group earned more than six times the amount received by the lowest-paid group, highlighting the wage gap between Malaysia’s highest and lowest earners.
Overall, DOSM said Malaysia’s formal labour market remained stable during the first quarter of 2026, supported by growth in both employment and median wages.
