EMBARGO: Only to be published or disseminated at
12:00 hour,
Friday, 9 December 2022
KEY STATISTICS OF LABOUR FORCE IN MALAYSIA, OCTOBER 2022
- The improvement in the number of employed persons continued in October 2022, with a
month-on-month rise of 0.2 per cent (+29.3 thousand persons) to 16.08 million persons
(September 2022: 16.05 million persons). During the month, the employment-to-population
ratio, which indicates the ability of an economy to create employment, was unchanged at
67.2 per cent as against the preceding month.
- By economic sector, the number of employed persons in the Services sector remained on an
upward trend, particularly in Food & beverages services, Wholesale & retail trade and Finance &
insurance/ takaful activities. Similarly, the number of employed persons in the Manufacturing,
Construction and Agriculture sectors also recorded increases. In contrast, employment in the
Mining & quarrying sector continued to fall.
- In October 2022, the employees’ category which was the largest composition of the total
employed persons with a share of 75.9 per cent, posted an increase of 0.1 per cent or equivalent
to 17.7 thousand persons to record 12.20 million persons (September 2022: 12.18 million
persons). A similar trend was observed in own-account workers, with a 0.4 per cent
(+10.4 thousand persons) increased to 2.83 million persons (September 2022: 2.82 million
persons).
- The number of unemployed persons declined marginally to 602.0 thousand persons, with a
reduction of 0.5 per cent (-3.0 thousand persons) in October 2022, as compared to
605.0 thousand persons in September 2022. October’s unemployment rate remained at
3.6 per cent, 0.3 percentage points higher than its pre-pandemic level (February 2020: 3.3%).
- During the month, the number of labour force continued to expand, with a month-on-month
increase of 0.2 per cent or 26.3 thousand persons to 16.68 million persons (September 2022:
16.66 million persons). October’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) stood at 69.7 per cent.
- In October 2022, the number of persons outside labour force continued a downward trend since
August 2021, decreasing by 1.9 thousand persons (-0.03%) to record 7.24 million persons
(September 2022: 7.24 million persons). The majority of the outside labour force was due to
housework/ family responsibilities, with a share of 43.3 per cent, followed by schooling/
training with 40.9 per cent.
The full publication of the Labour Force Report, October 2022 can be downloaded through eStatistic Portal.
DEPARTMENT OF STATISTICS MALAYSIA
09 DECEMBER 2022
Baharudin Mohamad
Public Relation Officer
Strategic Communication and International Division
Department of Statistics Malaysia
Tel : +603-8090 4681
Fax : +603-8888 9248
Email : baharudin[at]dosm.gov.my
Copyright ©2026 Department of Statistics Malaysia Official Portal. All Rights Reserved.
An Error occurred while handling another error:
yii\web\HeadersAlreadySentException: Headers already sent in /var/www/html/dosm/frontend/controllers/SiteController.php on line 191. in /var/www/html/dosm/vendor/yiisoft/yii2/web/Response.php:368
Stack trace:
#0 /var/www/html/dosm/vendor/yiisoft/yii2/web/Response.php(341): yii\web\Response->sendHeaders()
#1 /var/www/html/dosm/vendor/yiisoft/yii2/web/ErrorHandler.php(136): yii\web\Response->send()
#2 /var/www/html/dosm/vendor/yiisoft/yii2/base/ErrorHandler.php(152): yii\web\ErrorHandler->renderException()
#3 [internal function]: yii\base\ErrorHandler->handleException()
#4 {main}
Previous exception:
yii\web\HeadersAlreadySentException: Headers already sent in /var/www/html/dosm/frontend/controllers/SiteController.php on line 191. in /var/www/html/dosm/vendor/yiisoft/yii2/web/Response.php:368
Stack trace:
#0 /var/www/html/dosm/vendor/yiisoft/yii2/web/Response.php(341): yii\web\Response->sendHeaders()
#1 /var/www/html/dosm/vendor/yiisoft/yii2/base/Application.php(390): yii\web\Response->send()
#2 /var/www/html/dosm/www/index.php(24): yii\base\Application->run()
#3 {main} 
