Designing Employment Interventions for Displaced Populations in Myanmar

Overview & Synopsis

As Myanmar’s conflict enters its fifth year, designing effective employment interventions for displaced populations requires balancing humanitarian support with pathways to self reliance. This report focuses on transitional groups, those returning, resettling, or planning to return, who exhibit lower poverty and stronger employment outcomes compared to protracted internally displaced persons. It highlights three critical employment pathways: participation, productivity, and matching. High rates of labor force exclusion, especially among women due to care responsibilities and social norms, underscore the need for improved access to services, transport, and financial inclusion. Productivity is constrained by the dominance of low skill casual jobs, wage gaps, and limited access to relevant vocational training aligned with market demand. Matching challenges arise from information gaps, mobility restrictions, and mismatched wage expectations between workers and employers. The report recommends targeted interventions including skills upgrading, financial access expansion, mobility support, and localized job matching mechanisms to enhance livelihoods while sustaining humanitarian assistance.