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Top 5 most popular jobs in Malaysia in Q4 2023

Top 5 most popular jobs in Malaysia in Q4 2023

In total, the number of vacancies advertised online in the quarter recorded an increase of 32.5% to stand at 448,181 vacancies, as compared to 338,305 vacancies in Q3 2023.

Advertising & marketing professionals were seen as the most popular job roles in Malaysia in Q4 2023 — recording the highest number of vacancies in the quarter (33,079). This was followed by:

  • Administrative associate professionals (20,240),
  • Managing directors and chief executives (19,266),
  • Accountants and auditors (18,025), and
  • Software developers (13,923).

In total, the number of vacancies advertised online in the fourth quarter of 2023 recorded an increase of 32.5% to stand at 448,181 vacancies, as compared to 338,305 vacancies in the third quarter of 2023. Overall, there was a total of 85,814 establishments offering job vacancies in the quarter (Q3 2023: 77,499).

The data above was reflected in the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)'s Big Data analytics of job market insights and my job profile: Job vacancies advertised online in Malaysia, for Q4 2023. The quarterly analysis compiles statistics based on job vacancies advertised online by several popular private recruitment portals to provide information on job vacancies offered by employers via online from various aspects such as job type, job profile, economic activity, state and skills.

On a year-on-year basis, the number of job vacancies also registered a notable three-digit growth of 119.2%, against 77.9% in the previous quarter.

As for job vacancies advertised online based on occupation category, almost half were concentrated in the professionals' field, with 48.9% (218,947 vacancies) in Q4 2023. This was followed by managers (18.5%, or 82,950) and technicians & associate professionals (17%, or 76,284).

By economic sector, the services sector recorded the most job vacancies in Q4 2023, at 50.9% (228,148 vacancies). Observing the job vacancies by economic activity, wholesale and retail trade dominated the vacancies with (15.9%, or 71,154 jobs). Additionally, manufacturing recorded a total of 32,976 vacancies (7.4%), followed by administrative & support service activities at 32,113 vacancies (7.2%), and finally, professional, scientific & technical activities with 27,757 vacancies (6.2%).

In the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) category, the top three jobs were project manager (4,662), software engineer (3,571) and technician (3,084).

Finally, the top three most popular roles highlighted in the Critical Occupation List (COL) were:

  • advertising and marketing professionals (33,079),
  • managing directors & chief executives (19,266),
  • accountants & auditors (18,025).

The above aside, the report also noted the trends in job vacancies by state and territory. As revealed, all states except Perlis showed an increase in vacancies in Q4 2023, as compared to Q3.

Breaking it down, Kuala Lumpur posted the highest vacancies at 81,574 or 18.2%. Selangor also noted high vacancies with 43,673 (9.7%), followed by Johor at 19,822 (4.4%).

Meanwhile, the state of Perlis recorded the lowest vacancy, with only 79 vacancies.


Lead image / DOSM

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