In the fourth quarter of last year, the unemployment rate dropped for the fifth consecutive quarter, to 1.15%, according to the council, as the recovery picked up speed.
Recent grads made up 230,000 of the unemployed. According to the council, 64.5% of recent grads who were asked why they were unemployed responded that they were still looking for work.
“This reflects the reality that it is more difficult to get jobs,” the council said in its latest quarterly report on Thailand’s social and economic status.
A total of 39.6 million individuals were employed in the fourth quarter of last year, the report claims—a 1.5% increase from the same time the previous year. It ascribed the expansion to more jobs in the non-farm sector, particularly in retail, wholesale, and hospitality, as a result of the robust tourism recovery and elevated economic confidence.
However, due to severe flooding in southern provinces and the migration of temporary employees to higher-paying sectors, the agricultural industry experienced a 3.4% loss in jobs.
Due to the country’s strengthening economy and the influx of international tourists, the council predicted that the Thai labor market will continue to improve this year.
According to a recent poll by the Ministry of Labour, 10,000 extra workers are needed for hotels, restaurants, and retail establishments throughout 60 regions.
The council blamed the lack of workers in the retail and hotel industries to an increase in demand brought on by the influx of tourists. This year, more than 28 million international visitors are anticipated in Thailand, which will make up roughly 70% of all visitors in 2019, the year prior to Covid-19.
The forecast for the exports is not good, according to the council. It predicted that exports would decline because the Russia-Ukraine war, which has been going on for more than a year, is causing a recession in several of Thailand’s major trading partners.
Since October of last year, Thailand’s exports have decreased, prompting businesses to halt new hiring, which is poor news for recent graduates looking for employment, according to the council. The council said that Thailand’s inflation rate remained high in January at 5% and explained that this was due to pressure from the world economy and international conflicts
