Malaysia formal sector median wage rises to RM3,000

The median monthly wage for formal sector workers in Malaysia rose by 4.8 percent to RM3,000 in June 2026, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). The total number of formal citizen workers also grew by 3.3 percent year-on-year, reaching 7.2 million people.

A gender wage gap persists, with female workers recording a median monthly wage of RM2,964, which is RM36 lower than the RM3,000 median for male workers. Male formal workers account for 55.1 percent of the workforce (3.97 million), while females represent 44.9 percent (3.23 million).

By economic sector, mining and quarrying reported the highest median monthly wage at RM6,722, whereas the agriculture sector recorded the lowest at RM2,282. Geographically, Kuala Lumpur saw the highest median wages at RM4,245, followed by Selangor and Penang. Kelantan recorded the lowest median wage at RM1,827.