Thailand’s jobless rate hit a three-year low in the first quarter of this year, declining to 1.05% from 1.15% in the last three months of 2022 as recovery strengthened in the crucial tourism industry.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, driven by the continued pickup in the travel sector – a key source of jobs that was decimated by the pandemic.
According to a statement by the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), employment increased 2.4% in January-March from a year earlier, up from a 1.5% rise in the previous three months.
The jobless rate in January-March, with 420,000 unemployed, was the lowest since the 1.03% recorded in the first quarter of 2020 before the economy felt the full impacts of the pandemic.
Thailand’s definition of unemployment only counts as jobless those who do not work a single hour in a surveyed week, with analysts noting that the figures do not account for Thailand’s significant unofficial economy.
In the first quarter of 2023, Thailand had a workforce of 39.6 million. (NNT)
