Cambodia: Overseas workers sending home nearly $3 bil. to families each year

The Phnom Penh Post via Asia News Network

19:14 JST, February 27, 2022

As of Dec. 31, Cambodia’s government has provided overseas employment opportunities to more than 1,301,609 workers, including 528,799 women, according to Minister of Labor and Vocational Training Ith Samheng.

Included in the figure were over 1.2 million Cambodians who went to work in Thailand, over 45,000 in South Korea, more than 23,000 to Malaysia and over 11,000 in Japan. More than 800 had gone to Singapore, more than 200 to Hong Kong and 43 worked in Saudi Arabia.

Samheng revealed the figure during a meeting of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) to review outcomes of 2021 and outline working directions for 2022.

“It is estimated that the remittances sent by workers to their families each year total about $2.8 billion, which contributes to national economic growth and to the improvement of their families’ living standards,” he said.

He added that Cambodia continued to strengthen cooperation with partner countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan to provide employment opportunities for workers as well as to protect their rights and interests by creating qualifications that allow workers to receive social protection both now and upon their return.