BANGKOK, Nov 24 — Thailand’s National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) said today in the third quarter of 2014, Thailand faces the problem of increased unemployment, as entrepreneurs slow their business expansions and reduced employment, and agricultural sector also heads into a season of drought.
NESDB Deputy Secretary General Chutinart Wongsuban said the agency found that in the third quarter, there are 326,616 unemployed workers in the country, about 0.84 per cent, an increase of about 0.77 per cent compared to the same period of last year.
The main cause of unemployment is the slow down of the national economy, which in turn reduces entrepreneurs’ desire to expand businesses and employ more workers.
Unemployment in this quarter has continued to decline.
As for unemployment in the agricultural sector, Ms Chutinart it has declined about 17.5 per cent or 2.9 million people, as many areas across the country were either hit with drought or severe flooding.
However, employment outside the sector has risen about 9.6 per cent or 2.1 million people in production, logistics, retailing, hotel restaurants, and realty sectors.
The senior NESDB official said there are a few issues that needed to be monitored more closely in the next quarter, including the drought season which would directly affect the agricultural sector in both income and employment, and the problem of insufficient workers, as the economy next year tend to grow but entrepreneurs’ demands for workers in their fields would not be met.
She stressed that vocational students should have more courses to improve their skills, while the government should better systemise the employment of migrant workers and use more technology to assist with the expansion.
