Salaries of New graduates dropped down to Minimum wage according to Stats Dept
Statistics Department’s chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said that fresh graduates who joined the job market in 2020 received lower pay than 2019, getting the absolute lowest salary allowed by law. He noted that the Covid-19 pandemic also caused a lower labour force participation (LFPR) among those fresh graduates.
New graduates recorded a decline in monthly income where most of them earned between RM1,001 and RM1,500 in 2020 compared to RM2,001-RM2,500 in 2019. At the same time, the monthly income of Malaysian PhD and Master graduates in 2020 remained in the range of RM5,001-RM10,000, while diploma graduates were the majority in the range of RM1,001-RM1,500
Pointing out the Wage Report 2020–2021 by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Uzir explained that in an economic downturn, due to the major changes in employment, the data on average wages could be misrepresented.
He said that when most of those who have lost their jobs are low-paid workers, it increases the average wages of the other employees that’s left.
