A Growing Crisis: Work, Workers, and Wellbeing in Myanmar

Myanmar’s economy has been affected by numerous internal and external shocks since 2020. This report takes stock of the effect of these shocks on Myanmar’s workers and their well-being using a reliable new source of household data. The report compares employment indicators from 2017 and 2022 to spotlight the extent of adversity faced by workers and households. Employment indicators for 2017 are based on official Myanmar living conditions survey (MLCS) data. MSPS provides reliable employment indicators at the sub-national level for 2022 that are comparable with baseline official data from 2017. MSPS provides reliable employment indicators at the sub-national level for 2022 that are comparable with baseline official data from 2017. While anchored in the MSPS, this report complements quantitative data with qualitative insights from the community welfare monitoring surveys, in particular the March 2023 round, conducted by the World Bank since 2020. This report is organized as follows: chapter 1 provides a snapshot of overall labor market changes since 2017 and focuses on disparities by gender, employment type, industry of occupation, and other worker characteristics. Chapter 2 analyzes similarities and differences in level employment indicators by state and regions. Chapter 3 concludes by spotlighting key township level characteristics that have influenced workers, their work prospects, and their overall well-being.