Cambodia's 2012 unemployment rate stands at 2.7 pct: survey

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Unemployment rate in Cambodia stood at 2.7 percent in equivalent to 202,300 persons aged 15 or older in 2012, according to the first-ever Cambodia Labor Force Survey Report released on Thursday.

Conducted by the National Institute of Statistics and the International Labor Organization (ILO), the survey indicated that about 10.8 million persons, or 72.2 percent of the country's 14.9 million persons, were aged 15 or older.

The report placed the labor force participation rate of the population aged 15 or older at 69 percent in equivalent to 7.4 million persons.

"Ninety-seven percent of them are employed. This gives an estimated current unemployment rate of 2.7 percent or about 202, 300 persons," it said.

Makiko Matsumoto, ILO's employment specialist, said it was the first-ever labor force survey, which was conducted from February to April last year, involving a sample of 9,600 households across 24 cities and provinces in Cambodia.

"Based on the survey, the employment rate is very high as the jobless rate is very low in Cambodia if compared with other countries in the region," she said in a press conference on Thursday.

Heang Kanol, deputy director general of the National Institute of Statistics, said if compared with other ASEAN member countries, Cambodia's unemployment rate was lower than Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Myanmar, but higher than Brunei, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Laos.

The Cambodia Labor Force Survey indicated that skilled agriculture workers accounted for the largest share of the total employed population at 23.5 percent, and about 22 percent were employed in services and sales occupations, followed by 17 percent in elementary occupations, 12 percent in machine operations and 12 percent in craft or related trades.

The reported average monthly earnings of paid employees stood at 119 U.S. dollars, the survey said.

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http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/business/2013-11/28/c_132925658.htm