Unemployment rate dropped with removal of Covid-19 restrictions
Thailand’s unemployment rate dropped significantly since the coronavirus outbreak. The quota fell to 1.53% from 1.64% since the beginning of 2022 meaning just over 600,000 people are currently unemployed. Before the Covid-19 pandemic the unemployment rate was at 1% in Q1 of 2020, according to the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).
But the good news is that the number of unemployed is expected to decrease as more international travellers return to the kingdom as more restrictions are eased. Nightlife controls and limitations have been adjusted from June 1 to help the tourism industry as Covid infections are slowing down.
The employment rate climbed 3% compared to the same 2021 Q1 period, with more farm and non-farm occupations being filled.
The unemployment rate is expected to decline, but it is unclear if it they will get back to pre-pandemic levels, according to NESDC secretary-general Danucha Pichayanan.
“The world economy is still volatile. The Russia-Ukraine situation is ongoing, and supply chain disruptions are starting to affect domestic manufacturing,” he says.
Thailand’s measurement of the unemployment rate is restrictive because it classifies those unemployed as those who did not work an hour during the week of the survey. It also eliminates business owners or farmers. The statistics, according to experts, do not account for Thailand’s economy.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
