There are 8 million jobs in Cambodia.
80% of Cambodian adults are working,
compared to 62.5% in the rest of East Asia.


CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW
Cambodia’s workforce is
expected to grow by 135,000
workers per year for the next
35 years.

CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW
One in eight Cambodians
work in foreign-owned
firms. In 2014, the sum
value of all wages earned
by workers in exporting firms
was equal to 15% of GDP
(USD 2.6 billion).

CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW
Cambodian workers employed
in firms exporting to East Asia
earn higher wages than those
working in firms exporting to
the EU or the USA.


CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW
Domestic firms are more numerous
than foreign-owned firms in
Cambodia yet do not contribute
as many jobs. In 2014, a domestic
private firm employed on average
8 workers (1.4 million people total)
compared to a foreign-owned firm
that employed on average 124
workers (1.2 million people total).

CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW
Women have access to better
jobs in sectors where they
dominate. In the manufacturing
sector, where a majority of workers
are women, 65% of professional
or managerial jobs are held by
women. In contrast, they hold
only 5% of the professional
jobs in the male-dominated
construction industry.
CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW
A quarter of employees
of private firms in Cambodia
earned the minimum wage
or less in 2014.
CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW
Half of urban households and
23% of rural households
run a non-farm household
enterprise. Over 37% of
household enterprise owners
make profits below the
monthly minimum wage.

CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW
Cambodia has the highest labor
costs per unit of output among
apparel exporting countries, including
Bangladesh and Ethiopia. This means
that Cambodia is less competitive
in the apparel sector, even though its
wages are comparatively low.
CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW
On average, each additional
year a child spends in school
in Cambodia increases their
future income by only 3.6%,
compared to the global average
return of 10.1%.

CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW
Nearly 75% of foreign-owned or
exporting firms provide training
to their workers, compared to
57% of domestically-owned firms
and 61% of firms supplying the
domestic market.

CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW
The garments sector buys
only 25% of its inputs from
local Cambodian firms,
compared to 60% in Vietnam,
62% in Bangladesh, and 100%
in India. Therefore, the indirect
job and wage benefits of a
growing and successful garments
sector are limited.

CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW
37.6% of Cambodian exporters tend
to cite an inadequately educated
workforce as a top business
obstacle compared to 9.3% of non-
exporters. Large firms in Cambodia
find that workers lack necessary skills
in foreign language, team work,
problem solving, and management.


CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW
On average, female wage
workers in Cambodia earn
86 cents for every dollar
earned by male workers, and
89.4 cents for every dollar
earned by male workers with
the same education as them.

CAMBODIA’S FUTURE JOBS:
LINKING TO THE ECONOMY OF TOMORROW