Salary Survey Malaysia 2025

Get the most comprehensive overview of 2025 Malaysia salaries and hiring trends in your industry

Get the industry insider’s insight: Your 2025 salary guide for hiring and jobs in Malaysia

Malaysia's jobs market is constantly moving, and we have the inside knowledge. We don’t just help you keep up – we ensure you stay one step ahead with Malaysia's most comprehensive, data-led salary benchmarking tool.

Our Salary Guide is your definitive guide to what’s happening in your industry, and where it’s heading next. We arm you with the facts and analysis to make bold decisions, fine tune the next steps in your career search, and outsmart your competition when it comes to talent attraction and retention.

We offer salary and market insights for permanent positions across Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur across a variety of disciplines, see our expertise section below.

Salary insights, the power of knowledge

Informed by real-world market data, analysis and insights, our Salary Survey leaves no stone unturned to reveal your industry’s:

Trends to watch
In-demand skillsets
Salary expectations

We put the power in your hands with tools to drill down on the sectors, roles and stats that matter to you. So, whether you’re seeking global perspectives, national knowledge, or local intel – you’ll find it in our Salary Survey.

Our Expectations for 2025

Malaysia's economy was resilient and experienced growth in 2024. Geopolitical tensions and debt burdens didn't hinder recovery and inflation control progress, especially in sectors influenced by global economic trends. With its favorable business environment and skilled workforce, Malaysia attracted significant foreign direct investment. Many companies chose to diversify their supply chains and establish operations in the country. Steady employment growth and low unemployment rates solidify Malaysia as the top talent destination in Southeast Asia, offering abundant job opportunities and an exceptional quality of life.

As we look ahead to 2025, hiring trends will undergo significant changes. Skills-first hiring will become more prominent, focusing on competencies that thrive in dynamic environments. Skills frameworks and training investments will be crucial for building agile, future-ready workforces. Flexibility will take centre stage, with contract hiring on the rise. This approach offers businesses a broader talent pool and adaptability to changing needs. On the other hand, candidates seek employers who champion ED&I, and sustainability through strong ESG practices, making them vital for employer branding.

Download our e-guide for key insights and strategies to explore more about Malaysia's 2025 hiring landscape.

Key Salary & Compensation insights in Malaysia

SS Blocks

%

of businesses are giving pay rises in 2025

%

of professionals are looking for a new job in 2025

1.3 Years

Average tenure of professionals

%

of professionals are confident about job opportunities in this sector

%

of professionals are expecting a pay rise in 2025

Hiring Manager? Benchmark your teams salaries

If you’re growing your team or simply need to retain the talent you have, the Salary Survey gives you the insights you need to have the right team in place to keep your business moving forward.

Find out my team benchmark

Candidate? Find out your salary potential

Whether you’re looking for a new role or preparing for your end-of-year appraisal, the Salary Survey will arm you with everything you need to know to get what you deserve.

Find out my salary

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I use a salary guide?

To find out what a reasonable salary is for the job and industry you are in or are thinking of moving into, use our guide to discover the average pay for someone with a similar level of experience as you and view your earning potential.
What are the benefits of using a salary benchmarking guide?

Whether you're due a pay rise, promotion, or bonus, our guide allows you to review accurate market salary and pay averages to see how you can compare to others in your sector. Having accurate data-led information will help identify exactly how much you should be earning so you can prepare to negotiate your pay in your next performance review.
When is the best time to negotiate my pay?

Pay reviews often take place during the annual and half-year employee performance review periods. Make sure you take this into consideration and time your negotiation right. If the annual pay review is in January, and you call the meeting for February, you're likely to have missed the boat. In such a case, November would be the most suitable time here.
What is the salary benchmarking process and why is it important?

Salary benchmarking is the process of comparing salaries across the market for a particular job and providing a range and average for a particular role which can help guide an employer's decision-making on pay or bonuses during appraisal period or when making a new hire. The benchmarking process is essential for assessing and comparing pay and compensation packages in relation to the market and of those provided by competitors. Pay and compensation benchmarking can also provide significant competitor advantage, through the retention and attraction of top talent and enhancing an organisations reputation.
How to do benchmarking?

In partnership with a data collection specialist, a benchmarking tool offers a fully comprehensive list of salary ranges and averages based on location, experience level and more. You can view the latest salary range and averages in our 2025 guide.
How should employers evaluate employee pay & compensation during performance reviews?

Salary and compensation reviews often take place during the annual and half-year employee performance reviews. In tangent with the employee performance scoring, you can use a salary benchmarking tool to inform the pay and compensation review process. The tool also gives good insight into market trends in-demand skill sets. So, use performance reviews to see where the employee fits relative to the external jobs market and avoid losing in-demand talent through effective pay and compensation strategies.

Bespoke salary benchmarking

Using a combination of our own data, publicly available insights and our recruitment experts, we build bespoke overviews of the salaries and benefits required to attract talent.

Find out more