Female labour participation hits record high of 56.6% in Q4 2025

2026-02-11 - 07:36

Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said the three states with the lowest female labour force participation rate were Terengganu (42.7%), Kelantan (45.8%) and Pahang (47.4%). (Freepik pic) PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s female labour force participation rate reached a record high of 56.6% in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 56.2% in 2023, according to figures released by the statistics department today. Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said three states recorded rates exceeding the 60% target set under the 12th Malaysia Plan- Putrajaya at 77.5%, followed by Selangor (69%) and Kuala Lumpur (66%). “The three states with the lowest female labour force participation rate were Terengganu (42.7%), Kelantan (45.8%) and Pahang (47.4%),” he said in a statement. Uzir said Malaysia’s labour force showed steady growth in the fourth quarter, increasing by 0.8% to 17.62 million. “In line with this improvement, the number of employed people edged up by 0.8% to 17.1 million people from 16.97 million in Q3. “The number of unemployed people decreased slightly by 0.4% to 5,179,000, resulting in a 0.1 percentage point decrease in the unemployment rate to 2.9%,” he said.