Overview

• The number of employed persons in December 2025 continued its upward trend, with an increase of 0.2 per cent (+37.0 thousand persons) to 17.13 million persons, compared to 17.09 million persons in November 2025. The employment-to-population ratio, which signals the ability of an economy to create jobs, edged up 0.1 percentage points to 68.9 per cent in December 2025 (November 2025: 68.8%).

• Employment by economic sectors indicates that the number of employed persons in the Services sector continued to record steady growth, particularly in Wholesale & retail trade, followed by Accommodation and food & beverage service activities, as well as Information & communication activities. Similarly, the number of employments also increased in the Agriculture, Manufacturing and Construction sectors, while the Mining & quarrying sectors experienced a slight decline during the month.

• In December 2025, the employees’ category represented 74.7 per cent of the total employed persons. This category went up by 0.1 per cent (+18.7 thousand persons), bringing the total to 12.80 million persons compared to the previous month (November 2025: 12.78 million persons). Likewise, the number of own-account workers also showed an improvement, rising by 0.4 per cent (+12.0 thousand persons) to 3.27 million persons from 3.26 million persons in the preceding month.

• The number of unemployed persons during the month posted a slight decrease of 0.1 per cent (-0.7 thousand persons) to 517.7 thousand persons compared to the prior month  (November 2025: 518.4 thousand persons). The unemployment rate in December 2025 was unchanged at 2.9 per cent as of November 2025.

• The labour force continued to expand in December 2025, rising by 0.2 per cent (+36.2 thousand persons) month-on-month to 17.65 million persons, as against 17.61 million persons last month. December’s labour force participation rate remained at 70.9 per cent, the same as in the previous month.

• During the month, the number of persons outside the labour force posted an increase of  0.1 per cent, or the equivalent of +7.0 thousand persons to 7.23 million persons (November 2025: 7.22 million persons). The major composition of the outside labour force was housework/ family responsibilities, accounting for 43.7 per cent, followed by the schooling/ training category at 40.9 per cent.

The full publication of the Labour Force Report, December 2025 can be downloaded through eStatistik Portal

Released by:

DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS MALAYSIA

11th February 2026

For interviews, press statement and clarification to the media, contact:
Baharudin Mohamad
Public Relation Officer
Email: baharudin[at]dosm.gov.my
Phone: 03 8090 4681

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