In its recently released monthly labour force report, the department said the figure is an increase of about 100,000 workers from the second quarter of 2024, and represents 36.8% of the total number of tertiary-educated workers.

Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said the total labour force had increased by 0.7% to 17.26 million in the third quarter. The number of unemployed people also declined to 555,300 showing a 0.6% drop, with the unemployment rate for September at 3.2%, the same as in August.

“Following the country’s encouraging economic performance, the country’s labour market position in September remained strong. This was illustrated by the increasing number of employed persons, while the number of unemployed persons is declining,” he said.

In terms of duration of unemployment for the actively unemployed, 62.0% were unemployed for less than three months, while 6.5% were in long-term unemployment for more than a year. The inactively unemployed or those who believed that no jobs were available declined by 0.1% to 111,800 people.