Thai jobless rate in Q2 lowest since Covid-19 outbreak: NESDC

NESDC secretary-general Danucha Pichayanan said on Friday that the jobless rate in the second quarter of 2022 was the lowest since the country was first hit by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

He said Thailand’s employment situation has seen continued improvement in the second quarter, with 39 million people being employed in the system. That was a 3.1 per cent expansion from the same period last year, the highest since Covid-19 struck.

“This reflects a recovery in the labour market as the economy is making a positive adjustment due to increased consumption and exports,” the NESDC chief said.

Employment has increased in the production, retail,wholesale, transportation and warehousing sectors, ranging from 4.9 to 12.1 per cent.

NESDC data showed the hotel/restaurant and construction sectors saw a decline in employment— 2.6 and 5.4 per cent, respectively.

Construction projects have stalled due to concerns about economic uncertainties as the prices of construction materials have increased considerably.

Meanwhile, the hotel/restaurant sector has seen a slow recovery from the Covid-19 fallout as foreign tourists are returning to Thailand. However, demand for services has remained much lower than in the pre-Covid period.

In the agricultural sector, 11.7 million people were employed in the second quarter, a 0.8 per cent decrease from the same period last year.

However, employment in the non-farm sector increased 4.9 per cent with 27.4 million people employed.

Danucha said that inflation had resulted in wages being less valuable than before, particularly for low-skilled workers. He added that the government had come up with many measures to help shoulder the higher cost of living for those people, including subsidies for electricity and tap-water costs.