Median wages for the private sector up by 4.9%

by SUFEA SALEHUDDIN / pic TMR

MALAYSIA’S median wages for formal citizen employees have risen by 4.9% in June 2023 compared to the same period last year.

These statistics were compiled using administrative data sources obtained from relevant agencies, with a focus on citizens who work in the formal sector, particularly the private sector.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the number of Malaysian formal employees in June 2023 was 6.6 million, an increase of 1.6% compared to June 2022.

“This number accounted for nearly two-thirds (64.3%) of the total citizens-paid employees in the formal sector.

“In the meantime, the median monthly wages in June 2023 increased by 4.9% year-on-year (YoY) to register RM2,600,” he said in a recent statement.

According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM), the median monthly income for male formal employees was RM2,645 while female formal employees received RM2,527, accounting for 44.5% (2.94 million people) of total formal employees.

Looking at the gender comparison, male formal employees received greater median monthly pay than females in June 2023, accounting for 55.5% (3.66 million people) of total formal employees.

Based on the data, the age group with the highest median monthly wages in June 2023 was between the ages of 45 and 49 years, and they received around RM3,500.

In April 2023 (RM3,582) and May 2023 (RM3,482), the group had the highest median monthly wage too. Regarding pay increment, Mohd Uzir said all states showed positive YoY growth in terms of median monthly wages.

“One federal territory and two states had higher median monthly income than the national median monthly wage of RM2,600, with Kuala Lumpur having the highest at RM3,822, followed by Selangor (RM2,945) and Penang (RM2,645).

“Kelantan, Perlis and Sabah, on the other hand, had the lowest median monthly incomes of RM1,600, RM1,600 and RM1,800, respectively,” he added.

Expanding on the wage situation across economic activity in the second quarter of 2023, mining and quarrying notably registered substantial double-digit YoY growth in median monthly wages in June 2023 at RM5,200, despite only representing 0.5% of the total formal employees.

All sectors recorded a YoY increase in median monthly wages in June 2023 except for the agricultural sector, which registered a decrease of 0.9% to RM1,927.

In terms of salary distribution in June 2023, the chief statistician revealed that 34.7% of formal employees in Malaysia earned less than RM2,000, a decrease of 3.6 percentage points from the 38.3% recorded in June 2022.

Concurrently, 7.9% of official citizen employees earned more than RM10,000 per month.