KUALA LUMPUR: The government is aiming to reduce the skill-related underemployment rate of Malaysia to 30% by 2030 through a series of wage reforms and labour market initiatives, says the Human Resources Ministry.
The ministry said the country's skill-related underemployment rate currently stands at 36.1% as of 2024. The number of skill-related underemployment graduates increased from 1.54 million in 2023 to 1.60 million in 2024.
It said that by age group, the number of skill-related underemployed graduates aged below 24 increased to 260,100 in 2024 from 226,100 in 2023.
Meanwhile, Selangor recorded the highest number of skill-related underemployed graduates in 2024 at 572,900, followed by Johor with 149,200 and Kuala Lumpur with 105,000.
However, among those aged 25 to 34, the figure declined to 675,400 in 2024 compared with 700,900 in 2023.
To this, the ministry said it was hoping to address the growing skills mismatch in the labour market through key measures.
It said first will be to strengthen the role of the National Wages Consultative Council (NWCC) to cover all wage-related measures.
“The goal is to enable NWCC to set graduate starting salaries, including for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) graduates, while also overseeing compliance with wage guidelines under the Progressive Wage Policy.
"This will accelerate comprehensive wage reforms such as narrowing wage gaps and improving employee compensation,” it said in a parliamentary written reply dated Monday (July 6).
The ministry said it would also review the minimum wage regularly, taking into account a living wage to ensure workers receive salaries commensurate with the cost of living.
It added that its e-Masco Portal will be upgraded into a comprehensive labour market information platform, with public salary information that can serve as a reference for workers and other stakeholders.
The ministry was responding to Dr Halimah Ali (Perikatan Nasional-Kapar) who wanted to know the current rate of Malaysian graduates and youths who were underemployed and the plan of the government to specify the rate.
