Kota Kinabalu: Sabah's overall unemployment rate fell to 5.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2026 from 6.0 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025, the State Legislative Assembly was told on Thursday.
Youth Development, Sports and Creative Economy Minister Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan said the figure also reflected a positive recovery trend from the post-Covid-19 peak of 8.2 per cent recorded in 2020, with the unemployment rate standing at 7.6 per cent in 2024.
Responding to a written question from Tamparuli assemblyman Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau, Nizam said Sabah continues to adopt the State Government's definition of youth as those aged between 15 and 40, although the Federal Government has set the age range at 15 to 30.
He said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) does not publish official youth unemployment statistics by district or local authority, but Sabah's 2024 data showed unemployment rates of 25.6 per cent for those aged 15 to 19, 36.9 per cent for ages 20 to 24, 16.2 per cent for ages 25 to 29, 8.7 per cent for ages 30 to 34, and 4.9 per cent for ages 35 to 39.
Nizam said the State Government is implementing programmes including upskilling and reskilling initiatives, industry-based training with job placements in high value-added sectors, career carnivals, support for the creative economy and digital content industries, and strategic partnerships with government agencies, training institutions and the private sector to expand access to high-income employment opportunities.
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