Thai Q2 jobless rate falls to 1.37% as Covid-19 curbs eased
THAILAND’S official unemployment rate in the second quarter dropped to its lowest since the pandemic began and should improve further as the economy recovers following an easing of restrictions, the state planning agency said on Friday (Aug 26).
South-east Asia’s second-largest economy is gaining steam as its crucial tourism sector picks up. The government is aiming for 10 million foreign tourists this year versus nearly 40 million in 2019, before the pandemic.
The country’s jobless rate dropped to 1.37 per cent in the quarter ending in June, with 550,000 people unemployed, from 1.53 per cent in the previous quarter, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said in a statement.
That was the lowest since the 1.03 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2020 before the economy felt the full impacts of the pandemic.
Thailand’s definition of unemployment is narrow, however, and only counts as jobless those who do not work a single hour in a surveyed week and analysts say the figures do not catch Thailand’s significant unofficial economy.
In April-June, employment increased 3.1 per cent from a year earlier, with higher farm and non-farm jobs, after a 3 per cent rise in the previous quarter, the NESDC said.
“The job situation has improved to close to pre-pandemic levels,” it said. As the economy recovers, demand for labour has increased, resulting in a shortage of high- and low-skilled workers, it added. REUTERS
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