ASEAN labour force to expand by 16 percent

The labour force in Southeast Asia will increase by 16 percent in 2012-2015, Moody’s Investors Service cited recent World Bank estimates.
The labour force in Southeast Asia will increase by 16 percent in 2012-2015, Moody’s Investors Service cited recent World Bank estimates.

The population of ASEAN member countries aged between 15 and 64 will increase by 64.8 million, or 16 percent, to 471.5 million between 2012 and 2025, the agency quoted estimates by the World Bank.

In the coming decade, the labour force in almost ASEAN countries, except Thailand, will see a rise.
Between 2012 and 2025, the labour force in Laos, the Philippines and Cambodia is expected to grow by more than 20 percent, while Vietnam’s one is a mere expansion of 7 percent, according the agency.

Malaysia, Indonesia, India and ASEAN as a whole follow in that order, all to see labour force growth between 15 and 20 percent in the same period.

Singapore was also primed to see an expansion of about 10 percent, but Moody’s noted that stricter immigration laws introduced in the state since 2012 will prevent this.

According to Moody’s, the political and economic grouping of ASEAN countries is better positioned to harness its growing work force to boost economic growth, in comparison to South Asia, which is also expected to see high levels of growth.

Moody’s said it expects “domestic consumption to increasingly drive the ASEAN economies, with growth fuelled by a young and rapidly growing urban, middle-class population.”

This trend will help ASEAN countries cushion the impact of a more challenging export outlook, particularly resulting from a slowdown in Chinese demand, it said.-VNA

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