Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training spokesman Sun Mesa said on January 20, 2026, that, as of the end of December 2025, 620,000 former workers returning from Thailand had obtained jobs through the ministry and its partners. Nearly 90,000 vacancies remained available.
Of that total, more than 300,000 job opportunities were provided through the ministry’s own mechanisms.
The spokesman said the ministry had introduced key measures in four stages from June 8 to December 31, 2025, reaching former workers from reception at the border through to their homes to provide job opportunities and address their livelihood difficulties. The ministry organised 579 employment forums and events covering jobs, social security and vocational training in villages and communes in key target provinces.
Industry, agriculture and agro-industry, and services absorbed the largest shares of workers. In addition to those more than 620,000 job opportunities, hundreds of thousands of other former workers turned to family farming and started small businesses in their local communities.
More than 950,000 citizens and former workers had returned by December 2025 following border hostilities and appeals by Senate President Hun Sen and Prime Minister Hun Manet.
Pointing to the large number of domestic job opportunities, Sun Mesa urged other former workers who were still seeking work to call 1297 for jobs at home rather than risk migrating to Thailand, which he said did not offer the same wide range of benefits as Cambodia.
By: Chinda Titi
