KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Malaysia’s manufacturing sector sales value rose 3.7 per cent on-year at RM164.3 billion in March, compared with a 4.7 per cent on-year growth at RM153.1 billion in February, said the Statistics Department.
Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the growth in sales value in March was driven by the food, beverages and tobacco subsector, which recorded a strong growth of 11.8 per cent on-year in March (February: 14.5 per cent).
“This was followed by the electrical and electronics products and non-metallic mineral products, basic metal and fabricated metal products subsectors at 7.4 per cent (February: 7.8 per cent) and 4 per cent (February: 4.4 per cent), respectively,” he said in the department’s Monthly Manufacturing Statistics for March 2025 released today.
He said the sales value of export-oriented industries, representing 70.9 per cent of total sales, expanded by 4.6 per cent y-o-y in March (February: 5.8 per cent).
“The manufacture of computer, electronics and optical products also rose by 8 per cent (February: 7.8 per cent), while the manufacture of rubber products grew by 7.5 per cent (February: 8.4 per cent),” he added.
Similarly, Uzir said the domestic-oriented industries grew by 1.8 per cent on-year in March, after registering an on-year increase of 2.3 per cent in February.
He said both export and domestic-oriented industries rebounded by 8.6 per cent and 4.2 per cent on-month, respectively.
Commenting on the number of employees, Uzir said there were 2.39 million people engaged in the manufacturing sector in March, a 1.1 per cent on-year rise (February: 1.2 per cent).
The number of employees in this sector decreased by 0.2 per cent on-month.
He said the salaries and wages paid in the manufacturing sector also posted an on-year increase of 1.8 per cent (February: 2 per cent), amounting to RM8.4 billion in March, while an on-month comparison showed a 0.4 per cent drop.
“The sales value per employee went up to RM68,805 (2.6 per cent), while the average salaries and wages per employee was RM3,508, rising by 0.7 per cent on-year,” he said.
For the manufacturing sector’s performance in the first quarter of 2025, the sales value was registered at RM475.6 billion, a 4 per cent rise, from the same period in 2024.
The number of employees was up by 1.1 per cent to 2.39 million, while salaries and wages increased by 1.8 per cent to RM25.3 billion, with the sales value per employee standing at RM199,108 — a 2.9 per cent growth.
— Bernama
