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If you've ever wondered whether you're being paid fairly compared to others in your industry, the latest figures from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) offer a useful benchmark
According to DOSM's Employee Wages Statistics (Formal Sector) Report, Q1 2026, the national median monthly wage stood at RM3,027 in March 2026.
However, wages vary dramatically across industries, with median monthly pay ranging from RM2,164 in the lowest-paying sector to RM9,678 in the highest-paying sector.
Among the country's five main economic sectors, Mining & Quarrying remained the highest-paying sector with a median monthly wage of RM9,678, despite employing just 38,400 workers, or 0.5% of Malaysia's formal workforce.
Within the services sector, Finance & Insurance offered the highest median monthly wage at RM7,700, followed by Information & Communication at RM6,000.
Where the biggest salaries are
Based on DOSM's March 2026 data, these are Malaysia's 10 highest-paying sectors and sub-sectors:
| Rank | Sector / Sub-sector | Median monthly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mining & Quarrying | RM9,678 |
| 2 | Finance & Insurance | RM7,700 |
| 3 | Information & Communication | RM6,000 |
| 4 | Utilities | RM4,405 |
| 5 | Beverages & Tobacco Products | RM3,500 |
| 6 | Transportation & Storage | RM3,382 |
| 7 | Real Estate & Business Services | RM3,200 |
| 8 | Petroleum, Chemical, Rubber & Plastic Products | RM3,100 |
| 9 | Construction | RM3,082 |
| 10 | Transport Equipment, Other Manufacturing & Repair | RM3,045 |
Mining & Quarrying's median wage was more than three times the national median, while workers in Finance & Insurance earned well over double what the typical formal employee took home.
DOSM also noted that the services sector remained Malaysia's largest employer, accounting for 4.81 million formal employees, or 68.3% of the workforce.
The sectors paying the least
At the other end of the spectrum, labour-intensive industries continued to record the lowest median wages.
The Food & Beverages and Accommodation sub-sector recorded the country's lowest median monthly wage at RM2,164.
The Textiles, Wearing Apparel, and Leather Products manufacturing sub-sector followed at RM2,245, while the Agriculture sector recorded a median monthly wage of RM2,327, the lowest among Malaysia's five main economic sectors.
The bottom five were:
| Rank | Sector / Sub-sector | Median monthly wage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Food & Beverages & Accommodation | RM2,164 |
| 2 | Textiles, Wearing Apparel & Leather Products | RM2,245 |
| 3 | Agriculture | RM2,327 |
| 4 | Food Processing, Vegetable & Animal Oils & Fats | RM2,600 |
| 5 | Wholesale & Retail Trade | RM2,600 |
For comparison, workers in the lowest-paying sub-sector earned RM7,514 less per month than those in Mining & Quarrying.
However, not every high-paying industry employs a large workforce
One notable takeaway from the DOSM data is that Malaysia's highest-paying industries are not necessarily its largest employers.
Mining & Quarrying, despite topping the wage rankings, accounted for just 0.5% of the formal workforce.
By comparison, sectors employing the largest number of Malaysians generally offered wages much closer to the national median.
These include the services sector, which employs 4.81 million workers (68.3%), with a median wage of RM3,064; the manufacturing sector, which employs 1.23 million workers (17.5%), with a median wage of RM2,900; and the construction sector, which employs 425,400 workers (6.0%), with a median wage of RM3,082.
The figures suggest that while industries such as oil and gas, finance, and tech continue to command the biggest pay cheques, most Malaysians work in sectors where median wages hover around the RM3,000 mark.
