KUALA LUMPUR: The median monthly salary for those in the formal sector was up 4.9 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to RM2,900 in December 2023, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) quarterly employee wages statistics report.
Male employees made up more than half of those employed, with a median monthly salary of RM2,945 while female employees made up the remainder receiving a median of RM2,845 a month.
In December, all age groups experienced an increase in median monthly wages compared to December the previous year, except for those below 20 years old.
The median monthly wages of Malaysians under 20 years old was RM1,500 in December, which remained unchanged for 19 consecutive months.
In addition, the percentile analysis shows that the 10th percentile of Malaysian formal employees earned wages of RM1,500 or less.
About 31.2 per cent of employees earned a monthly wage below RM2,000, marking a decrease from 33.7 per cent as compared to the previous year, while 10.7 per cent earned monthly wages of RM10,000 and above in December.
"These statistics are based on administrative data sources obtained from relevant agencies, which focus on the citizens who work in the formal sector, notably in the private sector. Looking ahead, DOSM will continue to enhance the dissemination of employee wages statistics by integrating various administrative data to produce more comprehensive statistics for a deeper understanding of Malaysia's labour market dynamics," chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin. said in a statement today.
The group that received the highest monthly median wage was those aged between 45 to 49 years, with RM3,927 in December.
This age group also received the highest median monthly wages in October (RM3,500) and November (RM3,500).
Those aged 60 to 64 years old saw the highest YoY growth of median monthly wages at 7.4 per cent to RM2,900 in December.
"In the fourth quarter of 2023 (Q4 2023), all sectors recorded a YoY increase in median monthly wages.
Mining and quarrying sector received the highest median monthly wages of RM6,844 in December, despite only representing 0.6 per cent of total formal employees. "This sector also experienced the highest YoY growth of median monthly wages at 7.7 per cent compared to the same month in the previous year. "However, the agriculture sector which comprised 1.9 per cent of total formal employees, recorded the lowest median monthly wages of RM2,300 with an increase of 3.3 per cent in December," said Mohd Uzir.
Meanwhile, three states posted a higher median monthly wages compared to the national median monthly wages of RM2,900.
Kuala Lumpur posted the highest median monthly wages of RM4,045, followed by Penang at RM3,245 and Selangor at RM3,164.
Kelantan, Perlis and Sabah registered the lowest median monthly wages in December with RM1,600, RM1,700 and RM1,882 respectively.