First quarter’s figures same as pre-Covid
Thailand’s labour market improved in the first quarter, with the number of unemployed people dropping to 420,000, according to the National Statistical Office (NSO).
NSO director-general Piyanuch Wuttisorn said the NSO compiles labour force statistics every three months to examine employment levels among the population.
In the first quarter of this year, the labour force situation improved compared to the same period in the previous year, she said.
Data showed that of 58.8 million people aged 15 years and over, 40.3 million or 68.5% were in the labour force and 18.5 million were not, Ms Piyanuch said.
Of those in the labour force, 39.6 million or 98% were employed, she said.
Ms Piyanuch said that the number of full-time employers working between 35-49 hours a week increased by more than 300,000.
The number of people working 50 hours per week increased by more than 700,000, and the number of those working less than 35 hours per week declined by about 130,000, she said.
The number of unemployed people declined to 420,000 or 1.1% in the first quarter, the same rate as before Covid-19, Ms Piyanuch added.
She said that the long-term unemployment rate — those who have been unemployed for 12 months or more — has also improved, with the number falling to 87,000 in the first quarter of this year from 113,000 in the previous quarter.
The number of long-term unemployed people who are holders of a bachelor’s degree also dropped to 35,000, compared to 45,000 in the previous quarter.
However, quasi-unemployment numbers in the first quarter increased to 3.4 million from 2.1 million in the previous quarter.
Quasi-unemployment comprises those who work less than 20 hours per week in the agricultural sector and those who work less than 24 hours outside the agricultural sector, Ms Piyanuch said.
Though they still have work to do, their income declines according to the shorter working hours, and they are at risk of unemployment in the future, she said.
Ms Piyanuch further said that the labour sector in the first quarter grew partly due to the number of tourists from China who are returning to Thailand after the relaxation of Covid-19 travel restrictions.