NSO warns agro, forestry, fishery workers face risk of unemployment in long term
Workers in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors face the risk of being unemployed in the near future due to a decline in working hours of between 0-24 hours per week, according to a National Statistical Office (NSO) survey on employment in the fourth quarter of 2021.
It said the number of workers at risk of being unemployed in the fourth quarter last year increased to 2.61 million, higher than 2.56 million people in the same period of 2020.
The office went on to say that the employment situation in the fourth quarter of 2021 improved, thanks to the government’s move to ease Covid-19 prevention measures, which enabled more labourers to get back their jobs in especially the service, trade and manufacturing sectors.
“The employment rate in the fourth quarter last year was 66.3 per cent,” the NSO said. “Most labourers worked in the service, trade, agriculture and manufacturing sectors, respectively.”
However, NSO director-general Piyanuch Wuttisorn said that though the employment rate is likely to improve, it is necessary to keep an eye on long-term unemployment of more than a year, which will indicate the severity of unemployment.
“In the fourth quarter of 2021, the long-term unemployment rate was 0.4 per cent, higher than 0.2 in the third quarter,” she explained. “Long-term unemployment mostly occurred for people aged 15-24 and 25-34, respectively.”
Piyanuch said the number of long-term unemployed people in the fourth quarter last year was 118,000, higher than 35,000 during the same period the previous year.
“Most of the long-term unemployed were aged 15-30,” she added.