Unemployment Increasing Again In Cambodia

Under the civil war during the Pol Pot Regime, from 1975 to 1979, the Cambodian economy collapsed, and the infrastructure was destroyed. Meanwhile, a great deal of educated and skill full people were also killed. Nearly three million people passed away. They all were important people who played a key role in developing the country. During this period, all the people were forced to work on farms only and could not have another job. For example, people who worked for the government, a company, a factory, in the military, or for other fields were not allowed to do their jobs.

After recovering from the war, the surviving Cambodians returned to their normal life, but everything was not the same because the infrastructure had become worse. All the people started to rearrange it. At that time, the number of people who had no job was increasing remarkably. Some lost their lands, houses and even their relatives, so they had no place to live, no land to grow crops, and no school to go to. As a result, unemployment increased rapidly across the whole country.

Like starting from the beginning, the Cambodian government built the education system and some other structures, as well. People started to go to school, including young and old people. The infrastructure also improved year by year. As a result, people could get a job, and farmers had land to produce food. This was an important factor for Cambodia to decrease the unemployment rate.

On March 16, 1992, the United Nation Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) arrived in Cambodia. In 1993, the United Nations arranged a national election for the first time after long years of recovery from civil war, so the Cambodian people could decide their future. After the election, many factories or companies have been increasing in number. This created opportunities for people to get a job, and the employment rate became to rise.

In 2004, the unemployment rate was 2.50%, and it was a low rate compared to other countries. This rate revealed that Cambodia was ranked 173rd in the world. However, in 2009, unemployment increased again from 2.50% to 3.50%. This was a noticeable increase because the rate was not expected to rise. The number of companies has been increasing recently, so people should have opportunities to find jobs more easily.

To prevent the unemployment rate from increasing, the government should take responsibility to deal with the problem. We have to find out the reason why people are unemployed. It could be because they are not well educated and have not enough qualifications to work. Maybe companies are laying off workers, or it is because of our society's environment.