PUTRAJAYA — All economic sectors registered an increase in the mean monthly salaries and wages in 2023 compared to the previous year, with mining and quarrying topping the scale at RM5,623, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) today.

“The services sector ranked second at RM3,619, which was contributed by the education, information and communication and human health and social work activities sub-sectors,” said Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, quoting the Salaries and Wages Survey Report 2023.

“The manufacturing sector came next with the mean recorded at RM3,052, whereby the construction and agriculture sectors posted mean monthly salaries and wages of RM2,903 and RM2,204 respectively,” he said in a statement.

The Salaries and Wages Survey Report revealed positive developments in the number of recipients and the level of salaries and wages.

The median monthly salaries and wages for Malaysian citizens increased to RM2,602, reflecting a steady growth from RM2,429 in 2022. 

Similarly, the mean monthly salaries and wages rose to RM3,441 compared to RM3,219 recorded in 2022. 

Mohd Uzir said the mean monthly salaries and wages for skilled employees edged up by 7.5 per cent, registering an addition of RM364 to RM5,242 (2022: RM4,878).

“Among skilled employees, the managers category remained as the highest mean monthly salaries and wages at RM6,640, increased by 5.1 per cent as against RM6,319 in 2022, and followed by professionals (RM6,139) and technicians and associate professionals (RM3,854),” he said.

Commenting further on the salaries and wages by strata, he said the mean monthly salaries and wages for both urban and rural areas recorded an upward trend compared to 2022 to record RM3,580 for urban areas and RM2,608 for rural areas.

Mohd Uzir said the rise in median and mean monthly salaries and wages was contributed by the continuous economic and social activities, supported by the increase in tourist arrivals, international trade recovery and improvements in the labour market, especially in the services sector.

These statistics are compiled based on the Salaries and Wages Survey conducted by DOSM through a household approach to measure the monthly salaries and wages received by the full-time equivalent of paid employees among Malaysian citizens working in the private and public sectors based on their main occupation. — BERNAMA