New national plan says care economy investment can boost GDP and jobs
PETALING JAYA: Care work, long been regarded a welfare issue, is being repositioned as a vital economic sector under a new national framework aimed at boosting growth and job creation.
According to the Malaysia Care Strategic Framework and Action Plan 2026-2030, investing in childcare, eldercare and disability care should be viewed not as a fiscal cost but an economic investment with strong multiplier effects.
Citing United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) findings, the report said every RM1 invested in the care economy could generate RM7 in economic returns, with potential gains of 6% in GDP, 9% in employment and 11% in income growth.
The five-year roadmap outlines five key thrusts to strengthen the care economy, including stronger governance, clearer career pathways, advocacy, strategic collaboration and the use of research, technology and data.
Together, these measures aim to professionalise care work, ensure fair pay and promote shared responsibility between genders and sectors.
Under the governance thrust, the government plans to review care-related laws, establish a National Care Regulatory Body and create a national registry for care workers and centres to improve accountability and standards.
The framework also targets the training of 50,000 skilled caregivers by 2030, expanding professional qualifications and structured career ladders to reposition care as a respected profession.
The report revealed that Malaysia has more than 803,000 registered persons with disabilities, yet the supply of trained caregivers remains limited.
This is also due to almost all care work being burdened on the female population.
The report highlighted that weak care infrastructure has already had a direct impact on labour force participation, particularly among women.
It said women in Malaysia spend three times more time on unpaid care work than men.
In 2023, 63% of women outside the workforce cited housework and caregiving as the main reason for not being employed.
Female labour force participation remains at about 56%, below national targets under the government’s Madani economic framework.
The five thrusts will also work on advocacy efforts that will focus on recognising care as productive labour, promoting gender equality in caregiving and reflecting unpaid care work in national statistics.
Strategic collaboration will involve partnerships across government, the private sector, civil society and communities, as well as international cooperation to strengthen Malaysia’s care ecosystem.
The framework also calls for greater use of technology and data to improve service delivery in childcare, eldercare and disability care.
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri (pic) said care must be recognised as a core pillar of national development rather than invisible labour.
“Care work is not charity; it is the backbone of our economy,” she said, adding that care should be understood as a shared social and economic responsibility that lies at the heart of sustainable development.
She said the value of unpaid care and domestic work could reach US$90.4bil (about RM425bil), making it the second-largest contributor to the GDP after manufacturing, according to a study by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia.
Despite its economic potential, the framework noted that Malaysia’s care sector remains undervalued and underinvested, even as demographic pressures intensify.
Malaysia is ageing rapidly, with those aged 60 and above expected to make up 15% of the population by 2030 and 23.4% by 2050, while fertility rates have fallen to 1.7 children per woman.
Without timely intervention, the report warned, these trends could undermine economic competitiveness, strain social protection systems and weaken community resilience.
The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted this vulnerability, with many women leaving the workforce to meet rising care demands at home, and many never returning.
Childcare remains a major bottleneck, the report said. It revealed that only 3% of children aged up to four years are enrolled in registered childcare centres with almost 80% of the centres located in urban areas, limiting access for rural families.
Eldercare and disability care also present growing challenges as well as opportunities.
With life expectancy rising to 78.4 years for women and 73.5 years for men, demand for long-term care services is expected to increase sharply, the report noted.
