Employment Summary and Analysis

 

 

In Cambodia, the current unemployment rate for workers seeking employment is 3.5%.  This is up from 2.5% only one year ago("Economy - Cambodia - tax, problem, average, growth, area, annual, system, infrastructure.") The 1% increase in unemployment over the past year in Cambodia can be attributed mostly to garment-construction jobs moving into lower-priced countries such as China, India and Vietnam. According to a study conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce,  China , Indian, and Vietnam provide less expensive factory costs for companies, and the quality of work tends to be higher. ("Cambodia Money - Globe Aware").    Previously, the World Trade Organization offered tax incentives for businesses to create garment-construction jobs in Cambodia.  These incentives have expired.   These expired incentives have forced a structural increase in unemployment whereby the labor market is moving across borders, chasing cheap labor ("Economy - Cambodia - tax, problem, average, growth, area, annual, system, infrastructure.")

The total labor force participation rate for men and women over 15 years of age is 78%.  For women, over age 15, the labor force participation rate is 75%.  For men it is 85%.  Although the participation rate for men outnumbers the rate for women, Cambodia’s participation rate for women is the highest in the Southeast Asia region.  This labor force participation rate, for women, has been rising over the last few years due to Cambodia’s increasing garment-construction trade. (Some companies that moved to Cambodia in the late 1990’s for the tax incentives are moving operations to China, but many new garment-related jobs are still being created in Cambodia due to Cambodia’s liberal business policies, success with Union negotiations and extensive tourism infrastructure.)   Approximately 90% of jobs created in the garment-construction industry are filled by women. ("Cambodia: Money and Banks").  Another reason Cambodia has a larger than usual female employee count (when compared to other Southeast Asia countries) is attributed to years of civil conflict with the Cambodian Civil War (1967-1975) where over 800,000 people, mostly men, died.

Although garment-construction jobs are on the rise, agriculture still comprises over 75% of the available jobs.  These agricultural jobs consist of rice farming/milling and fishing.  These types of jobs require mostly unskilled labor.  Cambodian farmers earn more than half of their income by exporting their rice, and some corn, to Vietnam and Thailand.

The Information Minister of Cambodia, working with the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia set the minimum wage at $50.00 (in U.S. dollars) per week ("Cambodia Money - Globe Aware").  This is a frozen minimum wage until 2010.   This wage is small, but the cost of living in Cambodia is cheap.  Cambodia ranked 273 out of 275 countries in the world for cost of living. (Japan ranked #1.) ("Cambodia Money - Globe Aware")    One dollar in Cambodia will buy a meal, and rent for a small apartment is about $40.00 a week.  Rural farmers make less money than urban factory workers.  They earn about $ 135.00 (U.S. dollars) per year.  Most farmers in Cambodia own their own land though and do not pay rent.  

Works Cited

 

 

 National Bank of Cambodia. Web. 01 Dec. 2009. .

"Cambodia Money - Globe Aware." Volunteer vacations, working vacations, Costa Rica, Peru, Machu Picchu, working holiday, vacation, volunteer abroad - Globe Aware. Web. 02 Dec. 2009. .

"Cambodia: Money and Banks." Cambodia travel guides: Siem Reap, Angkor, Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville - hotels, resturants, maps, airlines and more. Web. 01 Dec. 2009. .

"CCH - Cambodian Money." CCH - Cambodian Community of Hawaii - Aloha Khmer! | Honolulu. Web. 02 Dec. 2009. .

 

"Economy - Cambodia - tax, problem, average, growth, area, annual, system, infrastructure." Encyclopedia of the Nations - Information about countries of the world, United Nations, and World Leaders. Web. 02 Dec. 2009. .