Laos will send an additional 2,000 workers to South Korea in an agreement that gives Laotians the chance to make a much higher salary as the country continues to struggle with high inflation and unemployment, reports Radio Free Asia. New recruits will work in factories with contracts of between three and five years that carry salaries of at least US$1,600 per month, a labour official in the Laos capital of Vientiane said.

Laos is experiencing a serious economic slump characterised by double digit inflation, worsening public finances and the devaluation of its currency. There are already about 2,800 Laotians working in South Korea, most doing short term seasonal work in the agricultural sector, according to Laos’ Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. 

South Korea’s shortage of young workers has prompted the government to look again at Southeast Asia for help staffing its factories. Tens of thousands of Cambodians already work in the country.