Malaysia’s jobless rate edges back to 3.0pc in April, 511,800 unemployed as labour force grows
PUTRAJAYA, June 11 — Malaysia’s unemployment rate returned to 3.0 per cent in April 2026, with 511,800 unemployed persons recorded, according to the Labour Force Statistics for April released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).
The unemployment rate during the month rose by 0.1 percentage points to 3.0 per cent (March 2026: 2.9 per cent), returning to the level recorded in October 2025.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the number of employed persons continued to increase in April 2026, rising by 0.1 per cent to 16.82 million persons against the previous month (March 2026: 16.80 million persons).
“The employees’ category constituted 75.0 per cent of total employed persons in April 2026. This category increased marginally by 0.05 per cent to 12.61 million persons (March 2026: 12.60 million persons).
“In the meantime, the number of own-account workers continued to trend upward and rose by 0.2 per cent to 3.15 million persons against the preceding month,” he said in a statement today.
Providing further insight into the unemployment situation in April 2026, he highlighted that the actively unemployed, defined as those who were available for work and actively seeking jobs, accounted for 79.5 per cent of the total unemployed persons.
This group posted an increase of 0.3 per cent to 407,100 persons, and a total of 63.9 per cent of the actively unemployed were unemployed for less than three months, while 5.0 per cent were in long-term unemployment for more than a year.
“At the same time, the inactively unemployed, comprising those who believed that no jobs were available, went up by 1.5 per cent to 104,700 persons compared with 103,200 persons in the previous month,” he added.
Commenting on Malaysia’s overall labour force performance for the month, he said the country’s labour market continued to show modest growth during the month, reflecting the economy’s steady expansion.
Accordingly, the labour force edged up 0.1 per cent to 17.33 million persons compared to 17.31 million persons in March 2026.
Meanwhile, the labour force participation rate remained unchanged at 70.9 per cent, the same as in the previous month.
