Survey: Average Salaries of Malaysians See Significant Decline As Compared To 2019

The pandemic has put a lot of people in very difficult positions. Some have lost their jobs, while others are experiencing pay cuts.

And on top of all of that, a report from The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) shows that Malaysians are receiving lower salaries now as compared to 2019.

DoSM recently revealed that the median and mean of salaries in Malaysia has dropped significantly, through their Salaries & Wages Survey Report, Malaysia, 2020.

They shared that in 2020, the number of recipients of salaries and wages increased, though at a slower rate of 2.1%, as compared to the 5% increase in 2019.

During the same period, however, the median of monthly salaries dwindled.

“Median monthly salaries and wages recorded a double-digit decrease of 15.6 per cent, from RM2,442 to RM2,062. Likewise, the mean monthly salaries and wages also declined from RM3,224 to RM2,933 (-9.0 per cent) within the same period,” they wrote.

The median and mean of monthly salaries and wages were compared using the following categories:

• Gender
• Strata

Gender

DoSM found that the median monthly salaries of male employees have remained consistently higher than their female counterparts, since 2010.

“In 2020, the monthly salaries and wages for male employees were RM2,093 and fell 15.5 per cent as against the RM2,477 from the previous year. Meanwhile, the median value for female employees decreased by 14.8 per cent to RM2,019 (2019:RM2,370),”

“The mean monthly salaries and wages for male employees in 2020 also fell by RM341, or negative 10.3 per cent to RM2,963, while for female employees, it fell by RM219 or negative 7.0 per cent to RM2,889 as compared to the previous year,” they added.

Strata

The research found that employees in both urban and rural areas experienced a drop in the median and mean of their monthly salaries as well.

“The median monthly salaries and wages of employees in urban areas posted a double-digit negative growth with 11.6 per cent recorded RM2,268 (2019: RM2,565, 6.2 per cent) while median value for employees in rural areas decreased by 14.1 per cent to RM1,340 as compared to RM1,560 in 2019,”

“Similarly, the mean monthly salaries and wages of urban and rural areas also declined in 2020. The mean monthly rate for urban areas have lessened by 9.3 per cent to mark RM3,089 (2019: RM3,405, 4.0 per cent) while rural areas are down by 5.5 per cent to RM2,086 as against the previous year (2019: RM2,208, 6.0 per cent),” they explained.

But, why the drop?

It is believed that the decline in salaries are a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the implementation of the lockdowns throughout 2020, where non-essential services and businesses were ordered to cease their operations.

And sadly, with the pandemic raging on while we’re well into 2021, it’s only fair to assume that these digits will continue to decline when we move into 2022.

This is truly a saddening moment for our country as we all continue to struggle to make ends meet.

We can only hope, pray and adhere to the SOPs in an effort to see brighter days ahead for fellow Malaysians and their livelihoods.

What do you think about this? Let us know in the comment section.

Also read: More and More Young Malaysians 25-Years-Old and Below Are Filing For Bankruptcy, Says Expert