Myanmar labour market intelligence, 2026

Myanmar has 22.7 million workers. Employers still can’t find talent.

105 statistics on wages, migration, conscription and the digital bright spot reshaping recruitment in 2026.

22.74Mlabour force, 2024
10.04%youth unemployment, 2024
−15%real wages, 2017–2022
2.3Mregistered Myanmar migrants in Thailand
14Mpeople potentially covered by conscription

Unemployment looks low, but millions have quietly left the labour market

Myanmar’s labour force is about 22.74 million, yet the headline rate hides underemployment, informal work and drop-out.

Official rates (%)
Headline, 20232.84%
Headline, 2026 proj.2.30%
Youth, 202410.04%
New working-age adults, 2017–2022 (millions)
Entered adulthood9.0M
Joined labour force3.3M · 37%*
*Calculated: 3.3M ÷ 9M.
+6M
more adults not in employment, education or training (4M women, 2M men)
6.7% → 8.1%
adult unemployment in the year to end-2023
−7.4 pp
employment rate versus 2017 level
−15%
real wages between 2017 and 2022

The economy is still well below where it stood before the crisis

Real GDP is forecast to remain 13% under pre-pandemic levels in FY2025/26, which limits hiring budgets and job creation.

GDP change, % (selected periods; 2026 per Fitch Solutions)
−18% +1% +1% −2.5% 2021FY2023/24FY2024/252026 proj.
~USD 1,110
GDP per capita, 2024
−13%
real GDP vs pre-pandemic, FY2025/26 forecast
~63%
public debt as a share of GDP
4.9%
budget deficit as a share of GDP, FY2025/26

Inflation is outrunning pay, and Thailand pays about three times more

Employers were advised to budget 25–35% raises just to preserve existing living standards.

Inflation (%)
July 202426.9%
July 202521.3%
Minimum wage index (Myanmar = 1×)
Myanmar1×
Thailand3× (2.4× PPP)
MMK 6,800
daily minimum wage from August 2024 (~USD 3.25)
~USD 200
average monthly salary, 2025
30–31%
2025 inflation forecast (ADB/IMF)
114 of 124
Myanmar’s global minimum-wage ranking

Conscription and migration turned quiet attrition into a resignation wave

The February 2024 conscription law added a powerful push factor on top of a large wage gap.

Conscription pressure

Firms reporting migration-driven resignations (%)
202311%
April 202428%
14M
people potentially subject to the law
+30%
cross-border mobility into Thailand (IOM)

Where workers go

Myanmar nationals abroad
Thailand (registered)2.3M
Malaysia250k+
Singapore200k+
Unemployment before migrating (%)
201824%
202436%

Garment factories show what a shrinking workforce costs

Difficulty recruiting skilled labour has been linked to a 20% production drop. Meanwhile, workers are shifting out of services.

Garment sector

Workforce (workers)
Earlier500,000
By 2025~400,000
USD 4.46B
2024 exports, down USD 750M from 2023
60%
of small factories (under 500 workers) closed

Sector shifts, 2023 to 2024

Services share of employment (%)
202370.3%
202462.4%
College-educated workers in agriculture (%)
202318%
202422.4%

Technology is the counter-trend: small, fast-growing and short on talent

Digital hiring keeps rising even as connectivity gaps and shutdowns hold the sector back.

Digital economy as a share of GDP (%)
20191.6%
20242.5%
200+
tech startups founded since 2022
+12% a year
entry-level tech pay increases at local firms
14.10% CAGR
cybersecurity market growth to 2029
8.1%
broadband penetration, a key constraint

Pay benchmarks (MMK)

Entry software engineer1.5M–3.5M a year
Entry cybersecurity specialist500k–800k a month
Senior cybersecurity specialistover 1.5M a month
Senior data scientist or cloud architectup to 48M a year
Internet shutdowns rose 48% in the six months to March 2025, affecting 36 townships.

Conflict and poverty set the ceiling on every hiring plan

Banking, trading and FMCG led hiring in March 2025, with sales, finance and IT the most sought-after functions.

31.0%
poverty rate in 2024, back to 2015 levels
87%
of townships in armed conflict (288 of 330)
3M+
people internally displaced (August 2024)
42%
of farming households worried about food insecurity
The ILO invoked Article 33 against Myanmar on 5 June 2025, raising compliance and reputational scrutiny for employers.

What this means for employers

Workforce availability can no longer be judged by unemployment figures alone.

Review pay more often

Rapid inflation erodes nominal raises, so salary reviews need a shorter cycle.

Invest in retention

Migration and conscription drive resignations. Strengthen benefits and career paths.

Build skills in-house

Specialist pools are small and shrinking. Train for tech and skilled-labour gaps.

Plan for sudden exits

Adopt adaptable recruitment models that assume unexpected resignations.