{
  "id": 13037318,
  "title": "Malaysia’s August 2026 unemployment rate hits new low of 2.9pc",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/malaysias-august-2026-unemployment-rate-hits-new-low-of-2-9pc",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-09T05:14:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Malay Mail",
    "slug": "malay-mail-malaymail",
    "url": "https://www.malaymail.com/news/money/2026/10/09/malaysias-august-2026-unemployment-rate-hits-new-low-of-29pc/238372"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "February 9th reported that Malaysia's unemployment rate has reached a new low of 2.9% in August 2026, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM). The figure represents a decline from 3.0% in July, with the number of unemployed individuals decreasing by 8,700 to 511,600. The number of employed persons grew by 0.2% to 16.87 million, while the labor force expanded by 0.1% to 17.39 million. The labor force participation rate slightly increased to 71.0%. The employee category, which made up 74.9% of total employed persons, saw a marginal increase of 0.1% to 12.63 million. Actively unemployed persons, who were both available and seeking work, comprised 79.2% of the total unemployed population and decreased by 1.8% to 405,100. Among actively unemployed individuals, 64.2% had been unemployed for less than three months, while 5% were long-term unemployed. Inactively unemployed persons, who believed no jobs were available, dropped by 1.2% to 106,500. The unemployment rate among youths aged 15-24 decreased by 0.1 percentage points to 10.1%, and among youths aged 15-30 by the same margin to 6.3%. The number of persons outside the labor force decreased marginally by 0.1%, or 4,500 persons, to 7.11 million. Reasons for being outside the labor force predominantly included housework and family responsibilities (43.6%), followed by attending school or training (40.2%). Other reasons accounted for 16.2% of the total.",
  "summary": "PUTRAJAYA, Oct 9 — Malaysia’s unemployment rate declined to 2.9 per cent in August 2026 from 3.0 per cent in...",
  "key_points": [
    "Malaysia's unemployment rate hits new low of 2.9% in August 2026",
    "Number of unemployed individuals decreases by 8,700 to 511,600",
    "Youth unemployment rate among 15-24 years old drops to 10.1%"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}