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Rising demand is driving cross-border recruitment, while the Philippines offers an example of how countries can protect migrant caregivers and encourage their return.
ASEAN will require approximately 5.2 million long-term care (LTC) workers by 2050, more than twice its current estimated demand of 2.3 million, according to the second edition of the ASEAN Employment Outlook, released on October 28, 2026.
The report, Advancing Long-Term Care Work for Ageing Societies: Labour Protection, Labour Mobility and Labour Migration of ASEAN Care Workers, projects an additional 2.9 million workers will be needed. Women account for more than 75% of the region’s care workforce.
Labour migration is expected to play an increasingly important role in meeting demand, although recruitment abroad may also weaken care-worker availability in sending countries.
Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam Lead Regional Supply
The Philippines is a major exporter of nurses and internationally mobile healthcare professionals. Indonesia supplies significant numbers of home-based caregivers and domestic workers, while Vietnam is expanding overseas healthcare and care-worker recruitment.
Their workers serve destinations including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia. Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore are established markets for home-based caregivers, while Japan increasingly attracts workers through structured professional pathways, including its Specified Skilled Worker programme.
Wage differences, employment opportunities, recruitment networks, legal migration channels and career development influence workers’ destination choices.
Thailand Faces Growing Home-Care Demand
Thailand illustrates the pressure on national care systems. An International Labour Organization (ILO) study projects that one-third of Thailand’s population will be aged over 60 by 2037, while demand for paid home-based care workers could increase by at least 70%.
The country could require up to 250,000 additional paid home-care workers, including approximately 55,000 migrant workers, to close care gaps while providing decent working conditions.
Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos are major sources of foreign workers in Thailand, although the ILO projection does not specify the nationalities of the additional care workers.
Philippines: Protecting Workers and Encouraging Return
The Philippines provides an example of how labour-sending countries can manage migration throughout the employment cycle.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) oversees overseas employment and worker protection. Its overseas offices help verify contracts, resolve employment disputes, provide legal support and coordinate emergency repatriation.
The 2023 Caregivers Welfare Act strengthens caregiver protections, while the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration provides returning workers with skills training, livelihood assistance and enterprise-development support.
In 2026, the government expanded the Kaalaman Tungo sa Kabuhayan initiative, connecting returning overseas Filipino workers with skills certification, job placement and entrepreneurship opportunities. These programmes aim to help workers turn overseas experience and savings into domestic employment or businesses.
Migration Must Strengthen Care Systems
The Philippines’ approach demonstrates how migration policies can combine overseas employment with worker protection and reintegration. However, these programmes are general migrant-worker policies rather than initiatives exclusively designed for eldercare workers.
For ASEAN, the challenge is to meet rising demand without undermining care services in countries supplying migrant workers. Recruitment alone cannot resolve workforce shortages.
Long-term solutions will require investment in caregiver training, fair wages, professional recognition, improved working conditions and technology that supports productivity. Ultimately, sustainable migration must benefit both destination countries and workers’ home countries, strengthening care systems across the region.
Sources: The ASEAN Secretariat, ILO, Supreme Court of the Philippines
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