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Although employment continued to rise in April 2026, unemployment also edged higher, lifting the jobless rate to 3.0% — back to its October 2025 level.
Malaysia's labour market grew modestly during the month of April, supported by steady economic expansion, the Department of Statistics said in its latest labour force statistics report.
According to the report, the number of people in the labour force edged up 0.1% to 17.33mn, from 17.31mn in March 2026.
Read on to find out where employment grew, how unemployment changed, and what kept people outside the labour force.
Employment
Employment continued to increase during the month, with the number of employed persons rising 0.1% to 16.82mn, compared with 16.80mn in March 2026.
Chief Statistician Malaysia, Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin said employees made up the largest share of total employment, accounting for 75.0% of employed persons in April 2026. This category grew marginally by 0.05% to 12.61mn persons, from 12.60mn in the previous month.
Own-account workers also continued to increase, rising 0.2% to 3.15mn persons, compared with 3.14mn in March 2026.
By sector, services remained the main contributor to employment, particularly in wholesale and retail trade, accommodation and food and beverage services, as well as information and communication. Employment also recorded positive growth across manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and mining and quarrying.
Unemployment
Despite the continued rise in employment, unemployment also edged higher in April 2026. The number of unemployed persons increased by 0.6% to 511,800, from 509,000 in the previous month.
As a result, the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 3.0%, from 2.9% in March 2026, returning to the level last recorded in October 2025.
Looking at the breakdown, actively unemployed persons — those available for work and actively seeking jobs — accounted for 79.5% of total unemployment. This group increased by 0.3% to 407,100 persons, compared with 405,800 in March 2026.
Among the actively unemployed, 63.9% had been unemployed for less than three months, while 5.0% were in long-term unemployment of more than a year.
The number of inactively unemployed persons, comprising those who believed no jobs were available, also rose by 1.5% to 104,700, from 103,200 in the previous month.
Youth unemployment remained elevated. Among those aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate stood at 10.2%, involving 290,800 unemployed youths, compared with 290,000 in March 2026.
For youths aged 15 to 30, the unemployment rate edged up by 0.1 percentage points to 6.3%, with 394,700 unemployed persons recorded during the month. This compared with 6.2% and 390,900 persons in March 2026.
Outside the labour force
In the meantime, the number of persons outside the labour force in April 2026 declined marginally by 0.01% to 7.10mn persons, compared with the previous month (March 2026: 7.10mn persons).
Housework/ family responsibilities remained the primary reason for being outside the labour force, constituting 43.3%, followed by the schooling/ training reason with 40.5%.
Labour force participation rate (LFPR)
Meanwhile, the labour force participation rate remained unchanged at 70.9% in comparison to the previous month.
Broken down by gender, the LFPR for men in April 2026 stood at 82.9%, whereas, for females, the number was at 57.3%.
Concluding his statement, the Chief Statistician stated that Malaysia’s economic and labour market outlook is expected to remain positive in the near term, supported by resilient domestic fundamentals, continued investment momentum, and ongoing development initiatives.
However, global uncertainties — including the energy crisis, geopolitical developments, and external demand conditions — may affect the pace of economic growth and labour market performance.
Going forward, strengthening business confidence, improving workforce adaptability, and supporting productivity growth will be key to keeping both the economy and labour market resilient.
READ MORE: Malaysia employers see strong work ethic and productivity gains from OKU workers: DOSM's new report
Lead image / DOSM
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