For investors
Hiring in Kedah? Start with the data.
Who works in each district, what skills they have, and which sectors each district is strongest in — all from DOSM open data, with a source and year on every number.
Summary
Source: DOSM — Labour Force Survey Report 2024; Population Table by District 2025; Household Income by State 2024. Household income is not a wage rate; treat it as a rough guide to living costs and pay.
Where is the workforce?
Kuala Muda, Kulim and Kota Setar have the largest workforces. Net migration shows which districts draw new residents and which are losing people.
| District | Type | Labour force, 2024 (k) | Unemployment | Participation | Aged 15–64, 2025 (k) | Net migration a year, 2020–2024 Estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kuala Muda | Industrial hub | 244.5 | 2.2% | 62.8% | 390.2 | +2,985 |
| Kulim | Industrial hub | 166.4 | 1.9% | 69.0% | 241.8 | +1,340 |
| Kota Setar | Services centre | 162.6 | 3.2% | 63.8% | 255.7 | −773 |
| Kubang Pasu | Rural mixed economy | 109.4 | 2.4% | 65.3% | 168.3 | +1,965 |
| Baling | Rural mixed economy | 68.2 | 1.8% | 70.4% | 97.3 | −20 |
| Langkawi | Services centre | 48.1 | 4.9% | 72.6% | 66.3 | +265 |
| Pendang | Farming heartland | 44.6 | 3.5% | 66.9% | 66.7 | −215 |
| Yan | Rural mixed economy | 31.4 | 1.9% | 63.0% | 50.1 | −120 |
| Padang Terap | Farming heartland | 31.3 | 2.5% | 70.3% | 44.5 | −145 |
| Sik | Rural mixed economy | 29.4 | 2.0% | 64.0% | 46.1 | −85 |
| Pokok Sena | Farming heartland | 23.5 | 2.5% | 69.4% | 33.7 | −80 |
| Bandar Baharu | Farming heartland | 21.9 | 2.5% | 71.8% | 30.6 | +28 |
Source: DOSM — Labour Force Statistics by District (high standard error, use with care); Population Table by District; births and deaths by district. Net migration is our rough estimate. How we calculate this
Where are the factory workers?
Kulim and Kuala Muda are home to an estimated 79% of Kedah's manufacturing workers.
Manufacturing workers by home district, 2024 Estimate
Thousand workers. Whiskers = likely range (10th–90th percentile).
What skills do Kedah's workers have?
37% of Kedah's workers are technicians, skilled tradespeople or machine operators — the core skills for manufacturing.
Workers by occupation, 2024 Official
% of employed people in Kedah
Source: DOSM, Labour Force Survey Report 2024, Table B4.5. Occupation by district is not yet published.
What is each district strongest in?
Districts are ordered by the size of their economy. Tags show sectors that matter 1.2 times or more in the district's economy than across Malaysia (location quotient, 2020).
Source: DOSM, GDP by District and Economic Sector (constant 2015 prices, latest edition 2020). Location quotients computed by KedahKu. What is a location quotient?
Where is Kedah's economy heading?
Kedah GDP by 2030 Estimate
RM66.9 bn
Central projection, about 3.7% a year from 2025. Likely range: RM63.0 bn to RM71.2 bn.
See each district's projection and try the simulator →What this page cannot tell you
- Wages by occupation or district: DOSM does not publish them at district level.
- Industrial land, utilities, ports and investment incentives: see MIDA and Kedah's state investment agency.
- Commuting between Kedah and Penang: official data is not openly published, so we cannot measure it yet.
Every number on this page can be downloaded. Download the data · Kedah vs Penang, sector by sector
Sources (7)
- Labour Force Survey Report, Malaysia, 2024 (Tables B4.5, B4.8) — Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), 2024. Source: DOSM (attribution). Employed persons by state × industry and state × occupation. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- Annual Principal Labour Force Statistics by District — Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), via OpenDOSM, 2018–2024. CC BY 4.0. Place of residence. DOSM advises caution: high relative standard error at district level. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- Population Table: Administrative Districts — Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), via OpenDOSM, 2020–2025. CC BY 4.0. Thousands. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- Annual Live Births by District & Sex — Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), via OpenDOSM, varies. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- Annual Deaths by District & Sex — Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), via OpenDOSM, varies. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- Annual Real GDP by District & Economic Sector — Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), via OpenDOSM, 2015–2020. CC BY 4.0. RM million, constant 2015 prices. Place of production. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- Household Income by State — Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), via OpenDOSM, 1970–2024. CC BY 4.0. Retrieved 2026-09-27.