Thousands of Jobs Available in Preah Sihanouk Province, a Labor Ministry Official Says
Heng Sour, spokesman for the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, says there are many jobs available for workers laid off at casinos in Sihanoukville. Photo from the ministry's Facebook page
- Phoung Vantha
- January 9, 2020 9:59 AM
PHNOM PENH--More than 1,000 Cambodian workers have lost their job since the government shuttered online gambling last August.
Heng Sour, spokesperson for the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training, told ThmeyThmey that around 8,000 Cambodian casino employees were laid off in Preah Sihanouk Province while those at casinos in other provinces have not faced such challenges.
"More than 60 casinos in Preah Sihanouk Province were closed, which affected around 8,000 workers,” he said. “But other casinos in Poipet and Bavet are still running normally and are not laying off any staff."
According to Sour, there are many jobs available for these former casino employees as there are two special economic zones in Preah Sihanouk Province, which could generate more than 20,000 jobs.
"As I previously mentioned, the new job opportunities are in the special economic zones there,” he said. “There are two special economic zones, which generate more than 20,000 jobs. I think that if they are interested in finding a new job, we don’t have a shortage of jobs for them, including [jobs] in administration, accounting and [other] work," he said.
Ros Phirun, deputy director-general of the General Department of Financial Industry at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said that 118 casinos still operate out of the 183 casinos to which the ministry gave licenses last year.
Regarding the number of casinos in the country, Phirun said, "[T]here were 108 casinos [now] down to 56 casinos in Sihanoukville, 37 down to 24 along the border with Vietnam, 17 down to 12 in Bavet, 22 down to 12 along the border with Thailand.
“And there were 25 down to 14 in Poipet,” he said.
