Berita 24 English - Thailand's unemployment rate reached a 12-year high in the first quarter of 2021, the state planning agency said Mo...
Berita 24 English - Thailand's unemployment rate reached a 12-year high in the first quarter of 2021, the state planning agency said Monday, as the country reimposed measures to contain the third wave of infections.
Since early April, the Southeast Asian country's latest, more severe outbreak has seen overall cases nearly quadruple and deaths more than sixfold.
According to data from state agencies, the unemployment rate increased to 1.96 per cent in the January-March quarter, representing 758,000 unemployed workers, from 1.86 per cent in the previous quarter.
The rate was the highest since the first quarter of 2009 when it was 2.08 per cent during the global financial crisis.
"Unemployment has increased significantly and is expected to continue to rise, reflecting the ongoing impact of COVID-19," Danucha Pichayanan, head of the National Economic and Social Development Council, said during a briefing.
Unemployment decreased in the second half of 2020, as previous outbreaks were contained before resurfacing these years.
The official definition of unemployment in Thailand is quite narrow, encompassing only those who do not work a single hour during a surveyed week and excluding those who own businesses or farms, while analysts note that it excludes a sizable unofficial economy.
The prolonged COVID-19 outbreak may prevent the economy from growing at the targeted rate, Danucha explained.
The NESDB cut its economic growth forecast for 2021 to 1.5 per cent -2.5 per cent from 2.5 per cent -3.5 per cent last week, forecasting only half a million foreign tourists following a new wave of virus cases. In 2019, Thailand received nearly 40 million visitors.
The outbreak will stall tourism's recovery, Danucha said, affecting more than 7 million tourism workers.
However, the number of employed workers increased by 0.4 per cent to 37.6 million in the March quarter, owing to increased employment in the agricultural sector, which has absorbed some of the workers laid off in other sectors since 2020.
