Social capital and Myanmar urban migrant workers’ job seeking in Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many production sectors in Thailand encountered economic difficulties. The economic impacts of the pandemic have affected all people in the economy, including migrant workers. Especially urban migrant workers might have been the most affected by the pandemic. They have faced insecure livelihoods caused by losing jobs, loss of income, and difficulties in finding new jobs. Myanmar workers are the largest population among migrant labor forces in Thailand. Various literature shows that social capital has always been supportive as a valuable and critical resource contributing to well-being, especially during times of crisis and socio-economic change. So, urban migrant workers utilize social networks or connections to reduce risks, access services, and acquire information to lower transaction costs. Hence, the study explores the utilization of social capital by Myanmar urban migrant workers searching for jobs and improving livelihood security in Thailand. The methodology used in this study is a mixed quantitative and qualitative approach using data from a field survey conducted within two months consisting of 22 variables. The survey design is developed and adopted from theoretical and empirical reviews and World Bank’s Social Capital Assessment Tools. The results of this study reveal that social capital outcomes are critical factors for Myanmar urban migrant workers. Among three dimensions of social capital (bonding, bridging, and linking), the bonding social capital is the most contributed and has the highest involvement in Myanmar migrant workers’ jobs seeking in Thailand. Social capital is also relatively vital as one of the centralities that increases accessibility to resources, services, and assistance as well as promotes livelihood opportunities in search of jobs and assistance with financial needs.