Unemployment rate in Malaysia remained at 3.2% in November 2024: DOSM

In November 2024, there were 436,200 actively unemployed persons, representing 79.8% of the total unemployed population. This marked a slight decrease from the previous month. 

The number of unemployed in Malaysia decreased to 546,700 persons in November 2024, recording a 3.2% unemployment rate, says the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) on 10 January 2025 in its Statistics of the Labour Force, Malaysia, November 2024 report. 

Sharing his views on the overall performance for November 2024, Chief Statistician Malaysia, Dato’ Sri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin said, “Malaysia's continued strong economic performance towards the end of 2024 has led to the country's labour market position becoming more stable in November 2024.  

“Therefore, the number of labour force in November 2024 strengthened further with an increase of 0.1% to record 17.29mn persons (October 2024: 17.27mn persons).  

“The labour force participation rate remained unchanged at 70.5%, as in the prior month.” 

Here is a breakdown of the statistics for the labour force in Malaysia for November 2024: 

Unemployment 

• The unemployment rate for November 2024 remained steady at 3.2%, unchanged from October 2024. 
• The number of unemployed individuals decreased by 0.9% (-4,700 persons), totalling 546,700 in November 2024, compared to 551,400 in October 2024. 
• Of the total unemployed, 436,200 individuals (79.8%) were actively unemployed, while 110,600 persons (20.2%) were inactively unemployed in November 2024. 
• In October 2024, 440,000 persons were actively unemployed, and 111,400 were inactively unemployed. 

Employed persons  

• The number of employed persons in November 2024 continued its steady growth, increasing by 0.2% (+29,500 persons) to reach 16.75mn, up from 16.72mn in October 2024. 
• The employment-to-population ratio, which reflects the economy's ability to generate employment, rose by 0.1 percentage points month-on-month, reaching 68.3% in November 2024, compared to 68.2% in October 2024.
• Employees made up the largest portion of the employed workforce in November 2024, accounting for 74.9% of the total. This category increased by 0.1% (+16,300 persons) to 12.54mn, up from 12.53mn in October 2024. 

• Employment distribution by status: 

1. Employees: 74.9% 
2. Own-account workers: 18.6% 
3. Employers: 3.6% 
4. Unpaid family workers: 2.9% 

• The number of own-account workers also showed an upward trend, increasing by 0.4% (+12,800 persons) to 3.11 million in November 2024, compared to 3.10 million in October 2024.

By sector 

• By economic sectors, the services sector continued to record a rise in the number of employed persons, largely in wholesale & retail trade; and transportation & storage; and information & communication activities.  
• A similar trend in the number of employments was also observed in the manufacturing, construction, mining & quarrying, and agriculture in November 2024. 

Labour force  

• The labour force in November 2024 continued its upward trend, rising by 0.1% (+24,900 persons) to reach 17.29mn, compared to 17.27mn in October 2024. 
• The labour force participation rate (LFPR) remained steady at 70.5%, the same as the previous month. 
• By gender, the LFPR was 83.3% for males and 56.8% for females in November 2024. 

Outside labour force  

• During the month, there was a slight decrease of 0.02% (-1,300 persons) recorded in the number of persons outside the labour force to 7.23mn persons (October 2024: 7.23mn persons).  
• The major composition of the outside labour force was housework/ family responsibilities, with a share of 43.1%, followed by the schooling/ training category at 42.3%. 

In his concluding statement, the Chief Statistician said that Malaysia's steady labour market situation is bolstered by encouraging recruitment activities following the ongoing expansion of business activities in tandem with healthy domestic economic growth.  

“Therefore, the country's labour force performance is anticipated to remain strong in the upcoming months, as the Malaysian economy remains resilient with stable growth.” 

Infographics / DOSM Labour Force Statistics November 2024

Lead image / DOSM