The Labor Ministry proclaimed yesterday that unemployment was nearly eradicated in Cambodia after a recent study showed that less than one percent of citizens remained without jobs. Labor Minister Ith Samheng said in the Tripartite Annual Review of Decent Work Country Program for Cambodia 2016-2018 yesterday morning that 99.3 percent of Cambodians were employed, which was akin to there being zero unemployment in the kingdom.
 

“The data of Cambodian people who have jobs is very high, so we can say almost everyone has a job. All that’s left is only 0.7 percent who do not have work,” he said. This was a marginal increase from an International Labor Organization (ILO) annual world employment outlook released in January, which showed Cambodia’s unemployment rate as being 0.5 percent.
 

He added that more than one million Cambodians worked overseas in countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Japan, and sent up to $1.7 million back to their families annually. According to Mr. Samheng, there were now 1,150 garment and footwear factories in Cambodia, a 10 percent increase from last year, with 720,000 people employed in the sector. There are also 1.2 million people working in other industries like entertainment and services sectors.

 

read more http://www.khmertimeskh.com/news/37336/near-zero-unemployment-in-cambodia--claims-labor-minister/

 

 

-- © Copyright Khmer Times 07/04

"He added that more than one million Cambodians worked overseas in countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Japan, and sent up to $1.7 million back to their families annually."

 

 - That works out as each Cambodian overseas worker sending back, on average, $1.70 every year to their families. 

 

Obviously, remittances are much more, but there are likely no official figures. In particular I doubt they have data on money brought in or sent in by those working in Thailand as that seldom goes through the formal banking system.

 

Besides people working long term in other countries there is a lot of more casual migrant labor, people going in and out of Thailand for work or to sell things.

 

Without the safety valve of working in Thailand the employment picture would be very different. Fortunately for Cambodia, the demand for Cambodian labor in Thailand well outstrips the supply, so anybody who can't find work at home can certainly find it there...though not without legal hassles.

Is begging a job?

Obviously unemployment in Cambodia is low. The jobs pay so little they leave to work

in Thailand just like Mexicans/Central Americans leave for the US. Thailand is a step up

in income as hard as that is to believe by Westerners. They are better of in Thailand doing

the jobs Thais will not do. Construction, hotel housekeeping fishing boats,  etc....etc....