Reeracoen Malaysia has reported rising labour mobility in 2025, with the Malaysia Job Market Insights 2025 report finding that nine in ten Malaysians are now open to changing jobs due to slow hiring processes, shrinking bonuses and higher salary expectations.
The report reveals that 92% of Malaysian professionals are considering a job switch. Furthermore, 76% are actively seeking new opportunities, doing so weekly or even daily.
Only 9% report not looking at all, highlighting strong mobility within the labour force. This trend is especially evident in Malaysia’s manufacturing, electronics, and services sectors, where competition for skilled talent is rapidly intensifying.
A combination of slower hiring processes, modest salary increments, and rising living costs is pushing more workers to explore alternative roles. Jobseekers cite slow employer response times as their top frustration, with 54% pointing to protracted communication as a significant barrier.
Another 40% say long or complicated application procedures discourage them from applying.
Furthermore, the survey has found that interview delays directly increase cancellation rates. When interviews are scheduled within three days, 9% of candidates withdraw their applications.
This rises to 18% when scheduled within three to seven days, and jumps to 26% when employers take more than seven days to schedule the interview. Experts note that companies responding within 48–72 hours tend to see significantly higher acceptance rates.
Over the past year, 45% of employees received pay increases ranging from 0.1% to 4.9%, while 22% received no pay raise at all. Bonuses remain modest, with 38% receiving less than one month’s bonus and only 17% receiving two months or more. These figures suggest growing tension between pay expectations and what employers can currently offer.
With rising living costs and ongoing inflationary pressures, many professionals feel their salaries are not keeping pace, which further intensifies job-switching behaviour.
“Across Asia, job markets are shifting toward speed, transparency and efficiency. In Malaysia, we see a clear gap between how quickly candidates make decisions and how slowly many companies still hire. Organisations that adapt their talent strategies now will be the ones who win in the next stage of Malaysia’s economic growth,” said Kenji Naito, Group CEO, Reeracoen Group.
As job seekers consider more options and competition for talent intensifies, agencies continue to play an essential role in helping employers reach the right candidates. Although online job platforms are widely used, 48% of workers still work with recruitment firms.
Reeracoen’s data finds that 70% of successful placements come from passive candidates, showing that agencies give employers access to talent beyond active applicant pools.
“Malaysia’s job seekers are extremely active and selective today. Slow response times or unclear processes can cause companies to lose good candidates very quickly. Employers who move fast, communicate clearly and offer competitive rewards will have a strong advantage,” added Yohei Yagi, Country Manager, Reeracoen Malaysia.
