Malaysia’s unemployment falls to 3.0% as labor force expands in September 2025
Malaysia's unemployment rate dropped to 3.0 per cent in September 2025, with the number of unemployed persons decreasing to 518,600. This positive trend follows the government's introduction of the Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR) program in March 2020, which provided financial assistance to those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The labour force in Malaysia grew by 0.2 per cent to 17.54 million persons in September 2025. This expansion was driven by an increase in the number of employed persons, which rose by 0.2 per cent to 17.03 million. Employees accounted for 74.9 per cent of the total employed persons during this period.
Own-account workers also contributed to this growth, with their numbers increasing by 0.4 per cent to 3.24 million. The labour force participation rate remained steady at 70.9 per cent in the third quarter of 2025. Actively unemployed persons made up 79.8 per cent of total unemployed persons in September 2025.
The Malaysian economy showed signs of recovery in September 2025, with a decrease in unemployment and an increase in the labour force. The government's BPR program appears to have supported this growth, providing assistance to those in need.
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