KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s services sector revenue grew 11 per cent year-on-year to RM732.5 billion in the third quarter of 2026, supported by stronger household spending, tourism-related activities and continued expansion in digital services.
The Statistics Department said the wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage, and accommodation segment remained the largest contributor, recording an 11.6 per cent increase in revenue to RM554.7 billion.
The performance was partly supported by major events such as the Malaysia Agriculture, Horticulture and Agrotourism Exhibition (MAHA) 2026, MATTA Fair, the 2026 Malaysia Games (SUKMA), Citrawarna 2026 and concerts, alongside public and school holidays.
Meanwhile, the information & communication and transportation & storage segment recorded a 9.7 per cent increase in revenue to RM102.2 billion.
Within the information and communication subsector, revenue growth was recorded across telecommunications, computer services and information services, with the latter registering the strongest expansion amid growing demand for data centre and cloud services.
The transportation & storage subsector also recorded higher revenue, increasing 9.2 per cent year-on-year.
Postal and courier services revenue rose 11.5 per cent, supported by continued e-commerce expansion and demand for express delivery, while land transport revenue increased 10.9 per cent.
The professional services, real estate and administrative and support services segment recorded a 7.8 per cent increase in revenue, led by real estate activities, which grew 9.3 per cent.
Administrative and support services revenue expanded 9.2 per cent, mainly supported by demand for travel services.
The private health, private education, arts, entertainment and recreation, and personal and other services activities segment registered an 8.9 per cent increase in revenue.
Personal and other services activities led the segment with 14.4 per cent growth, reflecting higher demand for personal care and lifestyle services, while private healthcare revenue rose 10.6 per cent.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, services sector revenue increased 2.5 per cent, driven mainly by the wholesale and retail trade, food and beverage, and accommodation segments, which expanded 2.3 per cent.
The services volume index, which measures the volume of services activity, rose 5.9 per cent year-on-year to 174.3 points, while increasing 2.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter.
The department also reported that e-commerce income increased 2.6 per cent year-on-year to RM335.8 billion during the quarter, although it declined 0.6 per cent compared with the second quarter.
Employment in the services sector grew 2.2 per cent year-on-year to 4.7 million persons, driven by transportation and storage and personal and other services activities, which recorded increases of 4.3 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively.
Total salaries and wages rose 4.6 per cent to RM36.1 billion, with food and beverage and real estate recording the highest growth at 9.9 per cent and 9.7 per cent, respectively.
On a quarter-on-quarter basis, employment increased 0.7 per cent, while total salaries and wages grew 1.4 per cent.