Sabah Employment 2026 — Unemployment, Wages & Foreign Workers
Sabah's unemployment rate was 5.7% in Q3 2025, the highest of any state against about 3.0% nationally (DOSM). The formal-sector median wage was RM2,000 a month in March 2025, against RM3,000 nationally. Sabah had 130,391 registered foreign workers in March 2026, most of them on plantations.
How high is unemployment in Sabah?
In the third quarter of 2025 Sabah had a labour force of about 1.95 million, of whom 1.84 million were employed and 110,300 unemployed, an unemployment rate of 5.7%. That was the highest of any state; Labuan (4.7%) and Kelantan (4.6%) came next, and the national rate was about 3.0%. Sabah's rate has fallen steadily from 7.6% in Q3 2024.
Annual rates computed from DOSM's quarterly state figures. Sabah's rate rose from 5.9% before the pandemic to 8.9% in 2021 and was 7.6% in 2024; the national peak was 4.6% in 2021.
Source: DOSM Labour Force Survey, quarterly state series (OpenDOSM)
DOSM's Sabah labour force figures drop sharply between Q4 2023 (2.23 million) and Q1 2024 (1.82 million), which appears to reflect a revision to the population base rather than a real fall. Compare rates rather than head-counts across that break.
How much do workers in Sabah earn?
The median monthly wage of formal-sector employees in Sabah was RM2,000 in March 2025, up from RM1,882 in March 2024 (DOSM). Nationally the median was RM3,000, so Sabah's was a third lower. Kuala Lumpur (RM4,445) and Selangor (RM3,300) had the highest medians; Sabah (RM2,000), Kelantan and Perlis (RM1,800 each) the lowest.
These figures cover formal-sector employees only, not self-employed or informal workers. For household income, which includes all sources, see household income in Sabah.
The national minimum wage is RM1,700 a month under the Minimum Wages Order 2024, in force from 1 February 2025.
How many foreign workers are there?
A parliamentary answer obtained by Ranau MP Jonathan Yasin, reported in March 2026, put the number of registered foreign workers in Sabah at 130,391, out of 2,125,587 in Malaysia. Almost six in ten work on plantations.
Plantation 76,726; agriculture 26,736; services 7,783; manufacturing 6,870; domestic helpers 6,844; construction 5,345; mining and quarrying 87.
Source: Parliamentary answer, reported by Daily Express, 6 March 2026
National policy: the 13th Malaysia Plan aims to reduce reliance on foreign workers, setting their share of the total workforce at an average of 10% in 2030 and up to 5% in 2035, with recruitment by sector based on need for dirty, dangerous and difficult (3D) jobs, and a Multi-Tier Levy Mechanism to be implemented in 2026 (13th Malaysia Plan, p.1-24). These are national targets. Status as of September 2026: in July 2026 the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers was still urging the government to implement the levy mechanism (Media Selangor, 7 July 2026).
Registered foreign worker figures do not include undocumented migrants. No official count exists and published estimates vary widely, so we do not give a figure.
Frequently asked questions
Q What is Sabah’s unemployment rate?
Q Has Sabah’s unemployment always been this high?
Q What is the median wage in Sabah?
Q How many foreign workers are in Sabah?
Q What is the minimum wage in Sabah?
Sources & References 7 sources
Last verified: 28 September 2026
DOSM
- OpenDOSM: Labour Force Survey, quarterly, by state Unemployment rate, labour force, participation. Q3 2025: Sabah 5.7%, labour force 1,950,200. Pulled 28 September 2026.
- DOSM: Employee Wages Statistics (Formal Sector), Q1 2025 Median monthly wage March 2025: Malaysia RM3,000; Sabah RM2,000.
- DOSM: Employee Wages Statistics (Formal Sector), Q1 2024 Sabah median RM1,882 (March 2024).
Foreign workers and wages policy
- Daily Express, 6 March 2026: 130,391 pekerja asing dikenal pasti di Sabah Parliamentary answer obtained by Ranau MP Jonathan Yasin: Sabah 130,391 of 2,125,587; breakdown by sector.
- Rödl & Partner: Implementation of Minimum Wages Order 2024 RM1,700 from 1 February 2025.
- Thirteenth Malaysia Plan 2026-2030 (Ministry of Economy) p.1-24: foreign workers at 10% of workforce in 2030 and up to 5% in 2035; Multi-Tier Levy Mechanism in 2026.
- Media Selangor, 7 July 2026: FMM urges implementation of MTLM Multi-Tier Levy Mechanism not yet implemented as of July 2026.