Malaysia’s services revenue rises 11 per cent in third quarter
Revenue reached RM732.5 billion in the third quarter of 2026, while services employment increased to 4.7 million people.
Malaysia recorded RM732.5 billion in services revenue for the third quarter of 2026, an increase of 11 per cent from a year earlier, the Statistics Department said. It attributed the growth to household spending, tourism activity and the expansion of digital services.
The biggest contribution came from the segment covering wholesale and retail businesses, food and beverage operations and accommodation. Its revenue climbed 11.6 per cent to RM554.7 billion. The department cited support from exhibitions, sporting and cultural events, concerts and holiday periods.
Revenue for the combined information, communication, transport and storage segment reached RM102.2 billion, up 9.7 per cent. Information services posted the fastest growth within the information and communication subsector as demand increased for cloud services and data centres. Postal and courier revenue grew 11.5 per cent, supported by e-commerce and express deliveries.
Employment across services reached 4.7 million people, a year-on-year increase of 2.2 per cent. Transport and storage employment rose 4.3 per cent, while personal and other services activities recorded a 3.2 per cent rise. Salaries and wages totalled RM36.1 billion, up 4.6 per cent.
E-commerce income stood at RM335.8 billion, increasing 2.6 per cent from a year earlier but falling 0.6 per cent against the second quarter.
Compared with the previous quarter, overall services revenue grew 2.5 per cent. The services volume index reached 174.3 points, rising 5.9 per cent year-on-year and 2.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter. Employment increased 0.7 per cent from the preceding quarter, while salaries and wages rose 1.4 per cent.
