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Thailand’s unemployment in the first quarter rose to around 760,000, or 1.96 per cent, the highest since the pandemic started, the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) reported Monday.
The unemployment rate rose again after a small recovery in the second half of 2020, reflecting prolonged Covid-19 impact, said NESDC secretary-general Danucha Pichayanan.
In 2020, the proportion of jobless jumped to 1.95 per cent in the second quarter when the full lockdown was imposed nationwide, before slipping back to 1.86 per cent in the fourth quarter.
The latest Covid-19 outbreak could result in more unemployment for small and medium-sized enterprises across the country and put pressure on around 7 million employees in the tourism sector to look for a new job as the reopening plans will likely be delayed, Danucha warned.
Addressing job opportunities for new graduates, Danucha said there might not be enough positions for them as Thai economy might grow slower that the target pace. The estimate of new graduates entering the workforce this year is at 490,000.
Thai household debt as of the fourth quarter of 2020 reached all-time high at 89.3 per cent to gross domestic product, a total of 14.02 trillion baht, while the NESDC expected it to remain high this year due to the sluggish economic recovery.
“The labour market may be further affected, creating more liquidity problems among households, especially regarding low income,” NESDC said.