KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) sees the country’s wage growth has lagged productivity growth, and believes there is a need to review its wage- setting system, particularly how adjustments to the minimum wage translate into wages at higher levels.

BNM deputy governor Datuk Marzunisham Omar said statistically, Malaysia still does not have sufficient high-skilled jobs.

“If you look at it, our (high-skilled) underemployment rate is still high, about 35% to 36%. Meaning  that 35% to 36% of our workers are working in jobs that require less qualifications than what they already have at the moment,” he said at a plenary session titled The Future of Investment: Competing in A Fragmented World at the BNM Sasana Symposium 2026 yesterday.

He opined that Malaysia needs to create more high-skilled jobs through investments, while continually improving the quality of its labour force. — Bernama