Malaysia’s graduate workforce grows to 5.98 million in 2024 with unemployment declining to 3.2% and median salaries rising to RM4,521.
PUTRAJAYA: The number of graduates in Malaysia increased to 5.98 million in 2024, accompanied by a decline in the unemployment rate to 3.2% amid strong labour market growth.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin attributed this positive trend to the favourable economic and labour market conditions throughout the year.
Graduates now constitute 22.3% of the working-age population aged 15 years and above, reflecting the nation’s growing educated workforce.
Of this total, 5.14 million graduates were active in the labour force, achieving a high Graduate Labour Force Participation Rate of 86.0%.
Degree holders accounted for 54.9% of graduates, numbering 3.28 million persons, while diploma holders represented 45.1% with 2.70 million persons.
Year-on-year growth showed degree graduates in the labour force increasing by 5.4% and diploma holders rising by 3.2%, driven by improved job opportunities and lower unemployment.
The MADANI Government has introduced various initiatives under Budget 2024 to strengthen graduate employability, including access to up to RM2 billion in HRD Corporation levy funds.
Proven programmes such as the Graduates Training and Placement Scheme continue providing training and job placement opportunities in the public sector and GLCs.
Other initiatives include the Graduate Entrepreneur Academy to encourage innovation-based entrepreneurship and the e-Latih Programme offering free online courses.
The government also launched the Graduate Apprenticeship Programme and Graduate Innovation Fund while strengthening employability programmes through MyNext-GEG.
These efforts reflect the government’s continuous commitment to empowering a high-knowledge workforce aligned with Malaysia’s aspiration for a high-income economy.
Employed graduates grew by 4.6% to 4.98 million in 2024 compared to 4.76 million in 2023, mirroring Malaysia’s improving labour market conditions.
Approximately 67.8% of employed graduates were in skilled positions, totalling 3.38 million persons working primarily as professionals.
Technicians and associate professionals constituted 24.4% of skilled graduates, while managers represented 18.4% of this category.
Graduates in semi-skilled positions made up 31.0% of employed graduates, numbering 1.54 million persons.
The low-skilled category accounted for only 1.2% of employed graduates, with 57,500 persons recorded in 2024.
Employment among skilled and semi-skilled graduates recorded positive growth of 5.0% and 3.6% respectively, while low-skilled employment increased by 11.0%.
Employees formed the largest share of graduate employment at 86.4%, totalling 4.30 million persons in 2024, representing a 3.5% year-on-year increase.
The employer category saw significant growth of 10.4% to 277,600 persons, constituting 5.6% of employed graduates.
Self-employed graduates increased by 16.0% to 360,500 persons in 2024, representing 7.2% of employed graduates.
Unpaid family workers accounted for the remaining 0.8% of employed graduates, with 37,900 persons recorded.
The services sector employed the majority of graduates at 77.6%, comprising 3.86 million persons.
Manufacturing accounted for 13.4% of graduate employment with 667,300 persons, while construction employed 6.3% with 313,100 persons.
The agriculture and mining sectors employed 1.7% and 1.0% of graduates respectively, with 83,900 and 49,200 persons.
Skill-related underemployment remains a challenge that Malaysia is addressing through proactive measures to align workforce qualifications with labour market needs.
The number of graduates employed below their qualifications increased by 3.9% to 1.60 million persons in 2024.
Malaysia’s graduate skill-related underemployment rate decreased to 32.2%, placing the country ahead of South Korea, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Although trailing advanced economies like the United Kingdom and United States, the downward trend indicates potential for further improvement.
The Female Graduate Labour Force Participation Rate reached 83.4%, significantly higher than the national female labour force participation rate of 56.2%.
Graduate salaries continued to rise in 2024, with the median monthly salary increasing by 2.5% to RM4,521.
The mean monthly salary for graduates rose by 8.1% to RM5,330, reflecting improved earning potential.
All states recorded positive growth in both median and mean monthly graduate salaries compared to the previous year.
Kuala Lumpur recorded the highest median graduate salary at RM5,888, followed by Putrajaya at RM5,723 and Selangor at RM5,207.
The graduate unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage points to 3.2% compared to 3.4% in the previous year.
The number of unemployed graduates decreased by 0.8% to 165,900 in 2024 from 167,300 in 2023.
A positive trend emerged with 61.1% of active job-seeking graduates securing employment within three months.
Future efforts will focus on aligning the education system with labour market demands and expanding AI-based learning tools.
These initiatives will ensure future graduates are well-prepared to contribute to Malaysia’s sustainable and innovation-driven economic growth. – Bernama
