Percentile analysis by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) shows that the lowest 10% of Malaysian formal workers receive a monthly wage of RM1,664 or less per month, while formal workers in the 90th percentile receive at least RM9,200 per month.
According to a report by Berita Harian, this difference shows that workers in the 90th percentile receive 5.53 times the wages of the lowest wage group, illustrating the wage gap between the highest and lowest earners.
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Chief Statistician, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, explained that the median monthly wage recorded positive year-on-year growth for all states in the second quarter of 2025, and that the labour market remained strong during this period while supported by the continued increase in the working population.
Three states exceeded the national median monthly wage of RM2,864, with the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur recording the highest monthly figure at RM4,064, followed by Selangor at RM3,145 and Penang at RM2,927.
Meanwhile, the lowest median monthly wage was recorded in Kelantan, at RM1,764, followed by Perlis at RM1,800, and Sabah and Kedah both at RM2,000.
“These statistics are based on administrative data sources from relevant agencies, focusing on citizens working in the formal sector, particularly in the private sector,”
“Going forward, DOSM will continue to strengthen the dissemination of employee wage statistics by integrating various administrative data to produce more detailed statistics for a deeper understanding of the national labour market,” he said.
The Employee Wage Statistics Report (Formal Sector) Second Quarter 2025
Based on DOSM’s latest report, the number of formal citizen workers has continued to show an increase year-on-year, with a growth of 3.5%, to 6.97 million people in June 2025.
Furthermore, the median monthly wage has also continued to increase by 3.6%, 5.4% and 4.3% respectively in April, May and June 2025.
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When compared by gender, male formal workers contributed 55.1% (3.84 million people) of the total formal workers in June 2025, while receiving RM100 more than female formal workers for the monthly median wage.
The monthly median wage of male formal workers is RM2,900, while female formal workers, who contribute 44.9% (3.13 million people), earn a monthly median wage of RM2,800.
In comparison by age, the highest growth was recorded among workers under the age of 20, who received a monthly median wage of RM1,700 in June 2025, which is an increase of 13.3% compared to the previous year.
Formal workers aged 45 to 49 earned the highest monthly median wage of RM3,800 in June 2025.
Reviewing the wage situation across economic activities, Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin added that it shows that all sectors recorded an increase in monthly median wages throughout the 3 months in the second quarter of 2025.
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