PUTRAJAYA: Labour productivity per hour worked grew by 4.9% to RM46.3 per hour in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, according to the Labour Productivity Statistics, Fourth Quarter 2025, released by the Statistics Department (DOSM).
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said Malaysia's economy expanded 6.3% in Q4 2025, compared with 5.4% in the preceding quarter.
"During the same period, total hours worked increased by 1.4% to 9.9 billion hours (Q3 2025: 1.3%; 9.8 billion hours)," he said in a statement on Monday (Feb 23).
Mohd Uzir said the total employment rose to 17.1 million persons in the fourth quarter of 2025, registering a year-on-year growth of 1.8% (Q3 2025: 17.0 million persons; 1.5%), while labour productivity per employment increased 4.4% to record value added per employment at RM26,765 per person (Q3 2025: 3.9%; RM26,122 per person).
"Sectoral performance for labour productivity measured as value added per hour worked, which rose across all sectors in the quarter, led by construction (10.3%), followed by manufacturing (6.4%), agriculture (5.5%), mining and quarrying (5.1%) and services (4%)," he said.
Labour productivity per hour worked in the services sector rose this quarter, supported by growth in all subsectors except utilities and finance and insurance, with food and beverages and accommodation leading at 7.9%, followed by other services (7.2%) and information and communication at 6.4%.
In terms of labour productivity measured by value added per employment, each sector showed different growth rates during this quarter.
The construction sector led the overall performance by posting a substantial rise of 10.1%, followed by agriculture (5.4%), manufacturing (5.1%), services (3.7%) and mining and quarrying (1.3%).
Commenting further on the overall performance of labour productivity for the full year 2025, Mohd Uzir said the performance of labour productivity per hour worked for the year 2025 demonstrated a positive momentum at 3.7% (2024: 2.1%), recording value added per hour worked of RM44.5 per hour (2024: RM42.9 per hour).
Likewise, labour productivity per employment accelerated 3.4% (2024: 2.4%) with value added per employment at RM102,672 per person (2024: RM99,265 per person). - Bernama
