Number of unemployed persons decreases in April, lowest in 10 years
Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin stated that the number of unemployed persons decreased by 0.7 percent to 525,900 persons in April 2025, compared to 529,600 persons in March.
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Free Malaysia Today
a day ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Mandatory retirement age to be reviewed
The statistics department said Malaysia would likely reach aged nation status sooner than expected, with over 17% of the population expected to be aged 60 or above in 2040. (Bernama pic) KUALA LUMPUR : The mandatory age for retirement will be reviewed, as Malaysia is heading towards becoming an aged nation, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said when tabling the 13th Malaysia Plan today. In May, law and institutional reform minister Azalina Othman Said proposed that the government study extending the retirement age to 65, saying many retiring employees remained active and capable well into their 60s. In 2014, Malaysia raised the retirement age to 60 for both the public and private sectors, from 58 and 55, respectively. The move was aimed at providing financial support for the elderly while promoting healthy, active ageing. Anwar said then that a proposal to raise the mandatory retirement age required careful consideration. The statistics department previously said Malaysia would likely reach aged nation status sooner than expected, with over 17% of the population expected to be aged 60 or above in 2040. As of last year, this group made up 11.6%, or 3.9 million, of the total population of 34.1 million.
The Star
3 days ago
- The Star
PPI dips 4.2% in June
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia's Producer Price Index (PPI) has fallen again – down 4.2% year-on-year in June, following a decline of 3.6% in May 2025. The PPI measures price changes at the producer level. Economist Geoffrey Williams said this should not concern consumers. However, the lower PPI was an indication that for businesses, it reflected tight market conditions resulting in a squeeze on profits. 'The falling PPI is consistent with a low Consumer Price Index and reflects price caution due to trade tensions, lower oil prices and a strong ringgit,' he told StarBiz. Williams said the lower PPI would be reflected in lower inflation for the year across all sectors. 'Businesses are being competitive by moderating producer prices so there is no need to interfere,' he noted. According to the Statistics Department, on a monthly basis, every sector experienced year-on-year decline last month, particularly mining and manufacturing that were the primary contributors to the overall negative trend of the index. The mining sector declined 8% (May 2025: down 15%) as it was impacted by the extraction of natural gas (down 12%) and crude petroleum (down 6.7%) while manufacturing dropped 4.3% (May 2025: down 3%) on the back of a significant downturn of coke, refined petroleum products (down 17.7%) and computer, electronic and optical product (down 7.8%) indices. Furthermore, the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector also recorded a slight decrease of 0.3% (May 2025: 1.8%) as the animal production index fell 2.9%. The utility sectors saw a small drop of 0.2%. On a monthly basis, the PPI for local production recorded a decline of 0.7% in June, and 1.1% in May. Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the manufacturing sector fell 1.2% (May 2025: down 0.5%) due to the manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products (down 4.2%) as well as the manufacture of food products (down 3.0%) indices. 'Similarly, the agriculture, forestry and fishing sector declined by 1% (May 2025: down 5.4%), weighed down by declines in growing of perennial crops (down 1.2%) and animal production (down 0.8%) indices,' he said. However, the mining sector saw an increase by 4.6% rebounding from a 2.3% contraction in May 2025, driven by the extraction of crude petroleum which increased 7%. The water supply index also went up by 0.2% but the electricity and gas supply index fell 0.2% in June 2025. According to Mohd Uzir, the PPI registered a decline of 2.3% on a quarterly basis, in contrast to a 1% increase recorded in the previous quarter, driven by contractions in agriculture, forestry and fishing, mining and manufacturing sectors. On commodity prices, he said the average price of crude Brent oil in June stood at US$71.45 per barrel – an increase from US$64.21 per barrel in the previous month, primarily attributed to escalating geopolitical tensions, particularly the conflict in the Middle East. 'Malaysian crude palm oil prices averaged RM 3,969 per tonne in June 2025, compared with RM 3,880.50 per tonne in May 2025. 'The upward trend was driven by robust global demand especially from India and China, which helped sustain prices despite ample supply,' he said.
Free Malaysia Today
4 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Median monthly wage for formal sector hits RM3,000 in Q1 2025
As of March, the formal sector workforce stood at 6.8 million, comprising 55.1% men and 44.9% women. PUTRAJAYA : The median monthly wage for Malaysia's formal sector rose 5.5% to RM3,000 in March, up from RM2,844 a year earlier, according to the Employee Wages Statistics (Formal Sector) Report for the first quarter of 2025, released by the statistics department today. Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said the increase reflected the country's continued economic growth and the impact of the revised minimum wage policy, which he said had positively influenced the labour market. In a statement, he said that as of March, the formal sector workforce stood at 6.8 million, comprising 55.1% men and 44.9% women. The median wage for male employees remained at RM3,000, while female employees saw a 6.5% increase to RM2,982. The highest year-on-year wage growth was recorded among workers under 20, whose median wage rose 13.3% to RM1,700, largely driven by the reimplementation of the minimum wage policy in February. However, a slight drop was observed in the number of workers aged 20 to 24. Uzir said the mining and quarrying sector posted the highest median wage at RM8,800, although it accounted for just 0.6% of total formal employment. The agriculture sector remained the lowest, with a median wage of RM2,200. Geographically, Kuala Lumpur recorded the highest median monthly wage at RM4,445 in March 2025, followed by Selangor at RM3,300. At the other end of the spectrum, Sabah posted a median wage of RM2,000, while Kelantan and Perlis recorded the lowest at RM1,800. Uzir said 27.4% of Malaysian formal sector workers earned below RM2,000 per month as of March, down 3.8 percentage points from 31.2% in the same month last year. He said a percentile analysis revealed that workers in the bottom 10th percentile earned RM1,700 or less, while those in the top 10th percentile earned at least RM11,000 per month. 'This reflects an income gap where the top 10% earn six times more than the bottom 10%,' he said.
