Kuala Lumpur, July 26 (IANS): The median monthly wages of the formal sector in Malaysia rose 9.4 per cent year on year to 2,844 ringgit (610 US dollars) in March 2024, official data showed Friday.

The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) said in a statement that the increase in median monthly wages denotes a better labor market landscape, in line with the growing economic expansion in the first quarter of 2024.

It is noted that the number of citizens in the formal sector also continued to show a year-on-year increase, with a growth of 1.5 percent in March, Xinhua news agency reported.

Looking at the comparison by sex, male formal employees comprising 55.3 percent (3.62 million persons) of the total formal employees in March, received a median monthly wage of 2,900 ringgit.

Meanwhile, female formal employees, who made up 44.7 percent (2.92 million persons) of the total formal employees, earned a median monthly wage of 2,800 ringgit in March.

In terms of wage distribution, 31.2 percent of Malaysia's formal employees earned below 2,000 ringgit in March, marking a decrease of 3.6 percentage points from the 34.8 percent recorded a year ago.