eNewsHound

The global economic downturn has finally made its way to Southeast Asia. A growing number of regional layoffs are sweeping the area as governments report stalling growth and legislatures work to devise stimulus plans.

Here in the west, the economic crisis is fueled by home foreclosures and bank failures entering a downward spiral with rising unemployment and falling consumer confidence. In Thailand and other parts of southeast Asia, unemployed workers are deserting the city to return to their home villages to subsist on family farms.

While most of the countries in the area don’t offer unemployment benefits or even track unemployed workers, Thailand is reporting that over 2000 unemployed workers have returned to Ubon Ratchathani Province since November, and half of those in the last few weeks.

With the economy falling world-wide, tourism in areas like Phuket and Bangkok is dropping. Chambermaids, groundskeepers, waiters and other workers at five star hotels in Bangkok and other cities are being laid off in droves. With factories and construction sites laying off workers as well as retail jobs disappearing, the only option left for most is a return to village life.

Current predictions by leading economists suggest that millions of workers will lose their jobs in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia this year. Additional jobs could be lost in Indonesia and the Phillippines as those countries start to see their rapid growth fall off.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations are expected to address these economic problems during a summit this weekend outside of Bangkok. While stimulus plans are on the agenda, it is widely believed that any available funds won’t be nearly enough to mitigate the growing crisis.

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