KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's labor market continued to expand in the third quarter of 2026, with the labor force increasing by 0.3 percent to 17.33 million from 17.28 million in the second quarter, official data showed on Wednesday.
The labor force participation rate rose to 71 percent, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement.
The number of employed persons also grew by 0.3 percent to 16.82 million from 16.77 million in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, the number of unemployed persons increased by 0.8 percent to 513,700 from 509,700, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3 percent.
Amid rapid technological advancement and economic transformation, DOSM said Malaysia needs to strengthen efforts to prepare its workforce for evolving industry demands.
This includes expanding artificial intelligence and automation training, supporting the redeployment of workers affected by technological changes, encouraging investment in productivity-enhancing technologies and improving early warning mechanisms to identify sectors at risk of workforce displacement.
"Expanding employment opportunities in high-technology industries will also be essential to ensuring that Malaysia's workforce remains skilled, resilient, productive and competitive," it added. ■
