Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said the last time the unemployment rate fell below 3% was in November 2014.
He said the sharp improvement reflected the continued strengthening of the labour market, supported by stable economic conditions and steady demand for labour across key sectors.
“The labour force expanded by 0.2% to reach 17.61 million people in November 2025 compared to 17.58 million in October 2025, while labour force participation rate during the month was unchanged at 70.9%,” he said in a statement.
Uzir said Malaysia’s labour market was expected to remain stable and continue growing positively in the coming months, supported by emerging job opportunities in strategic sectors, ongoing reskilling and upskilling initiatives, and more balanced employment growth between urban and rural areas.
“Therefore, Malaysia’s labour market is forecast to remain competitive, inclusive and resilient in addressing global challenges, while leveraging opportunities from digital transformation and the green agenda,” he said.
He said the number of employed people continued to rise, growing 0.2% to 17.09 million compared to 17.06 million, while the number of unemployed individuals decreased slightly to 518,400 from 518,900 in the previous month.
He said employees accounted for 74.8% of total employment, increasing to 12.78 million people compared to 12.76 million in October 2025, while own-account workers rose to 3.26 million compared to 3.25 million the previous month.
He said employment growth remained broad-based, led by steady gains in the services sector, particularly human health and social work, wholesale and retail trade, accommodation, as well as food and beverage services.
Growth was also recorded in the agriculture, manufacturing, construction, mining and quarrying sectors.
Uzir said the number of people working fewer than 30 hours per week rose to 237,000 in November 2025, compared to 233,200 in October 2025, while time-related underemployment increased to 129,900 persons from 126,400.
“As a result, the time-related underemployment rate rose to 0.8% in November 2025 compared to 0.7% in October 2025,” he said.