KUALA LUMPUR, 14 JULY: According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, mean monthly salary and wages declined by 9% in 2020, the first drop since the series began in 2010, as Malaysia’s labor market witnessed uneven progress following the health crisis and its economic effects previous year (DOSM).
After two years of exceeding RM3,000, Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the mean monthly income and wages fell to RM2,933 in 2020.
Mohd Uzir said in a statement: “Following the health crisis and its economic ramifications, Malaysia’s labor market suffered inconsistent pace during 2020. This resulted in job losses as well as the cancellation or freezing of new hires, resulting in a decrease in total employment. Furthermore, the country’s strong Covid-19 control measures limited business operating hours and resulted in a reduction in working hours. As a result, Malaysian citizens’ average monthly salaries and wages declined for the first time since the series began in 2010 by negative 9.0 percent in 2020 “”Recent.”
In terms of economic activity, all sectors saw a drop in average monthly incomes and wages.
Agriculture (-20.0%), mining and quarrying (-17.7%), and construction (-20%) were the three sectors with double-digit declines, according to DOSM (-10.4 percent ). In the meantime, the services and manufacturing sectors both fell by 9.4% and 2.8 percent, respectively.
Wholesale and retail trade, motor vehicle and motorcycle maintenance, lodging, and food and beverage service activities were among the service sector industries with the highest concentration of salary and wage beneficiaries.
According to DOSM, these industries’ mean monthly incomes and wages fell by double digits, with negative 14.9 percent and negative 13.7 percent, respectively.
“The average monthly salary and compensation for skilled workers was RM4,619 per month (2019: RM5,072). Managers received the highest mean monthly salary and wages in this skilled occupation group, at RM6,479, followed by professionals (RM5,301), technicians and associate professionals (RM5,301), and technicians and associate professionals (RM5,301) (RM3,313).
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However, when compared to the previous year, the mean value received by managers shrank the most (2019: RM8,855). Meanwhile, the average salary for semi-skilled workers was RM2,007 per month (2019: RM2,206).
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Within this category, clerical support workers earned an average of RM2,370 per month, while other semi-skilled occupations, such as services and sales workers (RM1,926), skilled agricultural, forestry, livestock, and fishery workers (RM1,547), craft and related trades workers (RM1,891), and plant and machine operators (RM1,891), earned an average of less than RM2,000 per month (RM1,918). In 2020, primary workers had an average monthly salary and compensation of RM1,727 “Mohd Uzir remarked.
He stated that while both urban and rural monthly incomes and wages fell last year, the average value in urban areas fell by 9.3% to RM3,089.
Meanwhile, the average price in rural areas fell by 5.5 percent to RM2,086.
“Employees in Putrajaya obtained the highest mean monthly salary and wages of any state (RM4,497). Kuala Lumpur (RM3,823), Selangor (RM3,480), Negeri Sembilan (RM3,013), and Labuan (RM3,013) were the other states with mean values above the national average (RM2,942). In comparison to 2019, all states saw a decrease in mean monthly earnings and wages.”
After nine years of average increase of 5.6 percent, median monthly salary and wages have dropped by a double digit of 15.6 percent.
Mohd Uzir further mentioned that data showed that median monthly income and wages fell by 15.6 percent after growing at a rate of 5.6 percent for the previous nine years.
“The median salary of RM2,062 indicates that half of the employees earned more and half earned less. In terms of the number of recipients in 2020, it climbed at a slower rate of 2.1 percent to 9.4 million people, compared to a 5 percent increase in 2019 (9.2 million people) “llion people),” noted Mohd Uzir.
The top statistician went on to say: “Malaysian full-time citizen employees’ salary and pay have been reduced as a result of the extraordinary incident in 2020. This scenario played out globally as well, with an International Labour Organization report based on early data from national statistical offices showing that the level or growth rate of average wages in two-thirds of the world’s countries, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom, was on the decline.”
The issues persist in 2021, according to the chief statistician, since new daily instances of Covid-19 have been persistently high since the end of May.
Although different phases of the Movement Control Order have been in place all year to try to stop the pandemic from spreading, Mohd Uzir noted that some economic activities are allowed to run under rigorous standard operating procedures.
“Continuous steps are being implemented to pave the path for economic recovery, which is being aided by a slew of stimulus packages aimed at ensuring corporate viability. If a result, as the country’s economic position improves, the labor market will revive, allowing employees’ incomes and wages to rise “Added he./n
