More than a third of employed Malaysians with tertiary education are working in jobs below their qualifications, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia’s (DOSM) Q2 2026 Labour Market Review.
The figures point to a persistent mismatch between workers’ qualifications and the jobs they hold, with skill-related underemployment standing at 35.2% in Q2 2026.
Employment Numbers Look Strong
The unemployment rate held steady at 3.0% in Q2 2026, and the labour force participation rate edged up to 70.9%. Employed persons grew 1.1% year-on-year to 16.77 million, while total jobs across the economy rose 1.7% to 9.25 million.
Job vacancies climbed 0.4% to 195,700, though new job creation slipped 1.2% to 31,500.
The Rate Has Barely Moved
Underemployment, the percentage of people working part-time involuntarily or employed in jobs that do not use their skills and education, stood at 37.3% in 2022. It dropped to 35.7% by early 2025, then eased to 35.3% by year’s end. It now sits at 35.2%, a 0.5 percentage point improvement over six months.
The Human Resources Ministry has since allocated RM5 million toward helping graduates plan their careers around industry demand, rather than after they’ve already finished their studies.
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