PUTRAJAYA, Sept 17 — The average monthly salary and wage received by employees in the country increased by 4.4 percent from RM3,087 in 2018 to RM3,224 in 2019.
Chief Statistician, Datuk Seri Dr. Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the data was obtained from the 2019 Salaries and Wages Survey Report published by the Statistics Department, today.
“The increase in salaries and wages in 2019 was in line with Malaysia’s economic performance which recorded 4.4 percent growth at current prices in 2019,” he said in a statement, here, today.
“In 2019, the median salary and wage received by male employees were RM2,477 and female employees, RM2,370 which saw an increase of 5.8 percent and 6.8 percent respectively compared to 2018.
“The mean monthly salary and wage for male employees increased by 4.1 percent to RM3,304 and for female employees by five percent to RM3,108 respectively compared to the previous year.
“Meanwhile, the median and mean monthly salaries and wages for employees with tertiary education remained high, with 6.9 percent and two percent growth respectively,” said Mohd Uzir.
The report also shows the median and mean monthly salaries and income for employees in the urban areas up by 6.2 percent to RM2,565 compared to those in the rural areas, which rose to RM1,560 at a rate of 5.3 percent.
Meanwhile, the mean monthly salary and wage showed a reversing trend whereby the percentage change in the rural areas was higher at six percent, compared to employees in the urban areas with four percent in 2019.
Mohd Uzie said it was expected that the COVID-19 pandemic would affect this year’s salaries and wages received by employees, especially in the wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles, and transportation and storage sectors.
“Besides that, the accommodation industry, food and beverage services, and the arts, entertainment and recreational sectors are also expected to be affected by the enforcement of the Movement Control Order,” he added.
Sources: BERNAMA