PUTRAJAYA — Labour productivity per hour worked grew 1.0 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, registering RM42.50 per hour, according to the Labour Productivity Statistics for First Quarter 2025 (1Q 2025) released today.
Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said Malaysia’s economy expanded 4.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2025 as compared to 4.9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024 (4Q 2024), while the total hours worked increased 3.3 per cent to register 9.8 billion hours (4Q 2024: 3.5 per cent; 9.7 billion hours).
“The total number of employed persons was 16.9 million, indicating a year-on-year growth of 3.0 per cent in 1Q 2025 (4Q 2024: 16.8 million persons; 2.7 per cent), while labour productivity per employment increased 1.3 per cent to record value added per employment at RM24,580 per person (4Q 2024: 2.1 per cent; RM25,635 per person),” he said in a statement today.
Elaborating on the sectoral performance for labour productivity, Mohd Uzir said the labour productivity measured as value added per hour worked for this quarter was driven by the growth in the construction sector at 11.3 per cent, followed by the manufacturing sector at 2.8 per cent and the services sector at 0.5 per cent.
Despite the small increase in labour productivity per hour worked for this quarter, the services sector demonstrated performance variation among subsectors, namely real estate and business services (6.0 per cent), transportation and storage (4.3 per cent), other services (2.8 per cent), information and communication (0.8 per cent) and wholesale and retail trade (0.6 per cent).
However, three other subsectors showed a negative growth, namely utilities (-6.3 per cent), food and beverages and accommodation (-2.5 per cent) and finance and insurance (-0.4 per cent).
In terms of sectoral performance for labour productivity measured as value added per employment, Mohd Uzir said that the construction sector drove the overall performance by posting an encouraging increase of 13.2 per cent during 1Q 2025, followed by the manufacturing sector at 2.2 per cent, the services sector at 0.8 per cent and the agriculture sector at 0.3 per cent.
He concluded that Malaysia’s labour productivity is well positioned for a resilient positive outlook despite challenges in labour market reforms and economic uncertainties, propelled by sustainable labour market growth, thriving business activity and strengthening human capital. — BERNAMA
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