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The number of filled jobs in the quarter stood at 8.90mn, up from 8.76mn in the same quarter of the preceding year.
The Malaysian Department of Statistics released its Employment Statistics for Q2 2025 on 14 August 2025 (Thursday), revealing that the country's overall performance of labour demand in Q2 2025 continued to show an upward trend reflecting a resilient and stable labour market, with the total number of jobs rising by 1.6% year-on-year to record 9.10mn jobs (Q2 2024: 8.96mn).
The Chief Statistician of Malaysia, Mohd Uzir Mahidin said, “This coincides with Malaysia’s growing economic performance, prompting businesses across sectors to enhance labour participation to meet increasing output demands. Among the total jobs, 97.9% jobs were filled, leaving 2.1% vacant.”
The principal statistics of employment presented in the report are jobs, filled jobs, vacancies and jobs created by economic activity and skills category.
Labour demand by economic activity
The services sector recorded the largest share of total jobs, accounting to 52.2% (4.75mn), followed by manufacturing at 27.4% (2.50mn). The construction sector contributed 14.0% of jobs (1.27mn), while agriculture represented 5.5% (501,000) jobs. The mining & quarrying sector had the smallest share of 0.9% (81,000).
In terms of filled jobs, the services sector continued to lead with 53.0% representing 4.72mn filled jobs, followed by the manufacturing and construction sectors with 26.8% (2.38mn) and 14.0% (1.25mn) of filled jobs, respectively. On the other hand, the agriculture sector held a 5.3% share, comprising 469,200 filled jobs while the mining & quarrying sector accounted for 0.9% with 80,400 filled jobs.
The jobs vacancy was predominantly in the manufacturing sector with a share of 57.7% or equivalent to 112,400 vacancies, indicating a sustained labour demand in this sector. The agriculture sector accounted for 16.3% (31,800) vacancies while construction represented 13.0% (25,200) and services at 12.7% (24,800). The remaining of 0.3% (600) of vacancies were in the mining & quarrying sector.
Regarding jobs created, the services sector recorded the largest share of 46.7% (14,900). This was followed by the manufacturing sector with 37.4%(11,900), construction 11.0% (3,500) and agriculture with 4.2% (1,300). The mining & quarrying sector contributed 0.7% (200) of the total jobs created.
Labour demand by skills category
The number of jobs in the skilled category registered 2.29mn jobs, an increase of 2.1% year-on-year from 2.24mn jobs recorded in the previous year.
The rate of filled jobs registered was 97.9%, equivalent to 2.24mn filled jobs. The vacancy rate was 2.1% with 48,000 vacancies. The number of jobs created in this category decreased by 6.7% , totaling 7,900 jobs created recorded compared to the same quarter last year (Q2 2024: 8,500).
Semi-skilled category
The semi-skilled category recorded 5.67mn jobs in Q2 2025, an increase of 76,000 from 5.60mn in Q2 2024. The filled jobs rate stood at 98.1% with 5.56mn filled jobs, while the vacancy rate was 1.9%, representing 109,500 vacancies. Jobs created in this category increased by 3.0%, reaching a total of 20,600 new jobs (Q2 2024: 20,000).
Low-skilled category
In the low-skilled category, the number of jobs grew by 1.8%, registering 1.13mn jobs (Q2 2024: 1.11mn). A total of 1.10mn were filled jobs, with the filled jobs rate at 96.7%. The vacancy rate was 3.3%, corresponding to 37,400 vacancies. There were 3,400 jobs created, making up 10.6% of the total jobs created in the economic sector.
Furthermore, the distribution of labour demand shows that the semi-skilled category continued to dominate, accounting for more than half of all indicators. It represented
- 62.4% of total jobs,
- 62.5% of filled jobs,
- 56.2% of vacancies, and
- 64.6% of jobs created.
The skilled category ranked second, contributing:
- 25.1% of total jobs,
- 25.2% of filled jobs,
- 24.6% of vacancies, and
- 24.9% of jobs created.
Meanwhile, the low-skilled category had the smallest share, comprising:
- 12.5% of total jobs,
- 12.3% of filled jobs,
- 19.2% of vacancies, and
- 10.5% of jobs created.
Wrapping up his statement, the Chief Statistician said that labour demand in Malaysia remains dynamic and resilient in the current quarter despite persistent global headwinds, including tariff uncertainties and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
“This continued stable performance is underpinned by robust domestic demand and steady consumer spending, which help sustain business operations, alongside ongoing efforts in job creation,” he stated.
This is underscored by Malaysia’s advance GDP estimates, which reported a 4.5% year-on-year growth in Q2 2025. Nonetheless, businesses have shown strong adaptability in navigating external challenges, cushioning the impact of the ongoing situation. This, he added, reflects their readiness to sustain operations and uphold the positive momentum of labour demand in Malaysia.
Lead image and infographics / DOSM
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