highest in nearly two decades

From 2004 to 2020, unemployment in Myanmar remained low, typically below 1.5%. However, unemployment spiked sharply to 4.34% in 2021, the highest in nearly two decades. This jump is attributable to mass layoffs in the public and formal private sectors after the coup. Additionally, international sanctions—including targeted measures by the EU and other countries—and Myanmar’s FATF blacklisting in 2022 deterred foreign investment, prompting the withdrawal of numerous Western companies and exacerbating the economic downturn. The garment sector shed an estimated 300,000 jobs after the closure of over 200 factories สล็อต