In the first quarter of this year, over 400,000 individuals, representing approximately 1% of the working-age population, were unemployed. The top reason cited for their joblessness was resigning from their positions.
Piyanuch Wuttisornon, the director-general of the National Statistical Office (NSO), revealed findings from a survey on the working-age demographic, showing a decrease in unemployment compared to the previous year. The survey indicated that 410,000 people were unemployed in the first quarter of this year, comprising 1% of the workforce.
Of the unemployed individuals, 79,000 had been jobless for more than a year, marking a 4.9% decrease from the preceding year. The survey highlighted that a majority of the unemployed were university graduates.
Regarding the causes of unemployment, the survey indicated that 59.25% of those without jobs had voluntarily left their employment. Another 16.16% mentioned closing their businesses as the reason, while 13.15% experienced contract terminations, 5.47% were laid off, and 4.71% were unemployed due to different reasons.
The survey revealed that there were 40.2 million working-age individuals in the first quarter of this year, with 39.6 million employed, reflecting a slight decline from the same period last year. The decrease was predominantly observed in the agricultural sector, partly influenced by factors like more intense droughts.
On the other hand, the non-agricultural workforce saw a 2.2% increase, particularly in industries such as hospitality and food services, which experienced a growth of 10.3% during the same timeframe.
