KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's labor productivity, or value added per hour worked, remained firm after registering a growth of 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2026, official data showed Thursday.

Labor productivity grew from 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025, with value added per hour worked at 45.5 ringgit (11.47 U.S. dollars) in the first quarter, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said in a statement.

This was driven by Malaysia's economy, which expanded by 5.4 percent, while total hours worked increased marginally by 0.5 percent to 9.6 billion hours.

Meanwhile, labor productivity measured as value added per employment rose by 4.3 percent in the first quarter.

This was attributable to a total employment increase of 1 percent to record 16.7 million persons in the first quarter.

"Malaysia's resilient economic performance amid a challenging global environment, coupled with stable and favorable labor market conditions, will continue to stimulate an increase in the country's labor productivity rate," it said.