−1.7 ptsover 5 years
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Get Malaysia unemployment rate updates by webhook

GET /v1/economics/MYS/unemployment
// webhook: { "type": "release.updated" }

Read historical data and the release calendar by API.

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Key data points

Last release
9 Oct 2026
Observation period
August 2026
Next release
11 Nov 2026, 04:00 UTC
Previous
3.0% Jul 2026
Highest
5.2% May 2020
Lowest
2.6% Sep 2014
A year ago
3.0%
Data since
2010

Malaysia unemployment rate by year

Malaysia unemployment rate by year
YearAverageHighLowChange
2026 (to date)3.0%3.0%January 20262.9%February 2026▼ −0.1
20253.0%3.1%January 20252.9%December 2025▼ −0.2
20243.2%3.3%January 20243.2%June 2024▼ −0.1
20233.4%3.6%January 20233.3%June 2023▼ −0.2
20223.8%4.2%January 20223.6%June 2022▼ −0.5
20214.6%4.9%January 20214.3%December 2021▼ −0.6
20204.5%5.2%May 20203.3%January 2020▲ +1.7
20193.3%3.4%April 20193.2%January 2019▲ +0.1
20183.3%3.4%June 20183.2%February 20180.0
20173.4%3.5%August 20173.3%January 20170.0
20163.4%3.5%April 20163.3%January 2016▲ +0.1
20153.2%3.4%September 20153.0%January 2015▲ +0.4
20142.9%3.1%January 20142.6%September 20140.0
20133.2%3.6%November 20132.8%June 2013▼ −0.1
20123.0%3.3%October 20122.7%August 2012▲ +0.2
20113.1%3.3%September 20112.8%February 20110.0
20103.2%3.4%March 20102.9%October 2010▼ −0.1

Download history

Preview

12 observations · January 2025 to December 2025

Selected historical observations
Date or periodValue · PercentSource
January 20253.1%Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
February 20253.1%Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
March 20253.1%Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
April 20253.1%Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
May 20253.1%Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
June 20253.0%Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
July 20253.0%Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
August 20253.0%Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
September 20253.0%Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
October 20253.0%Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
November 20253.0%Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
December 20252.9%Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)

Indicator info

Category
Labour
Source
Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
Frequency
Monthly
Units
Percent

The share of the labour force that is out of work and actively looking for a job.

Reports

Released 9 Oct 20262.9%August 2026
Next release, 04:00 UTC11 Nov 2026Q3 2026

History

Unemployment rate recent observations
PeriodValueChange
August 20262.9%−0.1
July 20263.0%0.0
June 20263.0%0.0
May 20263.0%+0.1
April 20262.9%0.0
March 20262.9%0.0
February 20262.9%−0.1
January 20263.0%+0.1
December 20252.9%−0.1
November 20253.0%0.0
October 20253.0%0.0
September 20253.0%0.0
August 20253.0%

Common questions

What is the unemployment rate in Malaysia now?

The unemployment rate in Malaysia was 2.9% in August 2026, down 0.1 points from Jul 2026. The figure was released on 9 Oct 2026.

When is the next unemployment rate release for Malaysia?

The next release is scheduled for 11 Nov 2026, 04:00 UTC, covering Q3 2026.

What are the highest and lowest values of the unemployment rate in Malaysia?

In data since 2010, the highest was 5.2% in May 2020 and the lowest was 2.6% in Sep 2014.

Where does this data come from?

Published by Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), and shown here exactly as published. Publishers revise figures, and the latest published figure replaces the earlier one.

Source
Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM)
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