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Thailand: Employment ‘back to pre-Covid levels’
About 230,000 recent graduates remained out of work as 64.5% had been rejected by potential employers in the 4th quarter of last year, according to the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).
According to a NESDC report on the labour situation for that quarter, the employment situation improved due to new jobs in the non-agricultural sector. However, employment in the agricultural sector has declined since the second quarter.
Overall, the employment rate and working hours were similar to those before the Covid-19 pandemic, the report said.
In the 4th quarter of last year, 39.6 million people were employed, a 1.5% increase over the same period in the previous year due to 3.9% growth in the non-agricultural sector, the report added.
Recovery and expansion in the tourism industry boosted employment in hotels and restaurants as well as in wholesale and retail businesses. Employment in the transport, storage and manufacturing sectors increased as entrepreneurs remained optimistic about future economic prospects, it said.
Employment in the agricultural sector fell by 3.4% due to flooding in southern provinces and labour relocation, it said, adding working hours in the sector also increased. Meanwhile, the number of overtime workers in the sector increased to 6.3 million, it said.
Hidden unemployment and quasi-unemployment declined by more than 28% and 19% respectively.
Unemployment dropped to 1.15% in the 4th quarter of the last year, with some 460,000 out of work, from 1.23% in the previous quarter, the report said. Some issues still need monitoring, including employment in the export sector and job opportunities for recent graduates, it said.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2519094/