Five states beat national female labour rate of 56.6% in 2025, with Putrajaya topping at 79.7%, says DOSM.
PUTRAJAYA: Five states recorded a female labour force participation rate exceeding the national rate of 56.6% in 2025, with the highest record in Putrajaya at 79.7%, according to the Annual Labour Force Statistics, Malaysia, 2025.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said Selangor recorded the second highest female labour force participation rate at 70.7%, followed by Kuala Lumpur at 66.9%, while Melaka and Penang each recorded 58.3%.
“Malaysia’s labour market continues to strengthen in 2025, supported by continued economic resilience and an improving employment position.
“The unemployment rate continued to decline to 3.0%, the lowest level in a decade,” he said.
He said the number of people outside the labour force increased slightly to 7.03 million people with the majority remaining inactive due to housework or family responsibilities comprising 43.8%, followed by those in school or training at 42.2%.
Regarding the underemployment indicator, Mohd Uzir said a better performance was recorded in 2025, with the number of people working less than 30 hours a week.
“This was due to the working conditions or insufficient work with a decrease of 4.4% to 203,100 people, recording a lower underemployment rate at 1.2% compared to 1.3% in 2024,” he said.
