PUTRAJAYA (Oct 27): Malaysia's median monthly wage for formal sector employees rose 4.8% to RM3,000 in June, but a significant income gap persists between the country's highest- and lowest-paid workers, according to the Employee Wages Statistics (Formal Sector) Report for the Second Quarter of 2026, released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

The DOSM said that the top 10% of formal sector employees earned at least RM9,600 a month, while those in the bottom 10% earned RM1,700 or less.

"Therefore, employees in the 90th percentile earned more than five times the wages of those in the lowest-wage group, underscoring the gap in monthly wages between the highest and lowest earners," it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The DOSM said the number of Malaysian formal sector employees increased 3.3% to 7.20 million in June from 6.97 million a year earlier.

Despite the overall improvement, the DOSM said wage disparities remained evident across states, economic sectors and age groups, with Kuala Lumpur recording the highest median monthly wage at RM4,245, followed by Selangor (RM3,245) and Penang (RM3,000). Meanwhile, the lowest median monthly wages were recorded in Kelantan (RM1,827), Perlis (RM1,864) and Sabah (RM2,045).

By economic activity, the mining and quarrying sector recorded the highest median monthly wage at RM6,722, although it accounted for only 0.5% of total formal sector employment.

"On the other hand, the agriculture sector, which accounted for 1.8% of total formal employees, reported the lowest median monthly wage at RM2,282 during the same period," it said.

In terms of gender, the DOSM said male employees, who made up 55.1% or 3.97 million of the formal workforce, earned a median monthly wage of RM3,000. However, female employees, accounting for 44.9% or 3.23 million workers, received a slightly lower median monthly wage of RM2,964.

Meanwhile, employees aged between 45 and 49 continued to earn the highest median monthly wages throughout the second quarter, recording RM4,000 in April and RM3,945 in both May and June.

The DOSM said those aged between 50 and 54 registered the highest year-on-year increase in median monthly wages, while employees below 20 years old saw their median wage remain unchanged at RM1,700 since February 2025.

On a positive note, the DOSM said the proportion of Malaysian formal sector employees earning below RM1,700 a month declined to 8.2% in June from 10.4% in the corresponding month last year, a reduction of 2.2 percentage points.

Overall, the DOSM said Malaysia's formal labour market remained stable and resilient in the second quarter, supported by continued growth in formal employment and median monthly wages.

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