According to the sixth edition of the ILO’s Cambodian bulletin, Cambodia’s garment and footwear sector exports continuous to grow in 2016, rising by 7.2 per cent to US$ 7.3 billion, on the other hand the number of exporting factories fell by 10.4 per cent and the number of workers declined by 2.9 per cent, compared to 2015.

The latest issue of the ILO’s Cambodian garment and footwear sector bulletin the three main factors which contributed to the divergence between strong exports and weaker employment and enterprise creation are rise in the industry’s productivity, statistical problems with the measurement of employment and factory numbers, and an increase in production in subcontracting factories.

A rise in employment and production in subcontracting factories could be a concerning development if subcontracting is being used as a way to undercut regulations, including labour law and the minimum wage, which should be carefully monitored by stakeholders says Maurizio Bussi, director of the ILO country office.

Garments and footwear remain the most important of Cambodia’s exports in 2016 as per the bulletin. The EU remains the most important market destination for Cambodia’s garment and footwear exports, with the US being second.

Average monthly earnings, including overtime, of Cambodia’s garment and footwear workers increased from US$ 145 in 2014 to US$ 175 in 2015 to US$ 195 in 2016. Adjusted for inflation, real average monthly wages/earnings were eight per cent higher in 2016 than they were in 2015.

The Bulletin has been published within the outline of the ‘Labour standards in global supply chains’ programme financed by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on behalf of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.