Economic think tank NESDB: More Thais unemployed

August 27, 2012

BANGKOK, Aug 27 - Thailand’s unemployment rate rose almost 1 per cent in the second quarter of this year, mainly due to last year’s massive floods and a minimum wage increase to Bt300 per day, the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) announced Monday.

In a review of overall second quarter performance, the NESDB said that unemployment in the Thai work force rose by 0.85 per cent, representing 334,121 people—a 0.2 per cent increase from the same period of last year.

A total of 521,199 newly-graduated job seekers, or an increase of 13.6 per cent, entered the market while private sector investments and production have yet to fully expand following the closures of some businesses since the massive floods in 2011.

The government’s increase of daily minimum wage to Bt300 last April has escalated the worsening labour situation, said the NESDB, adding that the overall labour force in the market has increased by 2.1 per cent while employment demand was only 1.6 per cent higher.

The quality of the Thai labour force, especially their lack of a flair for English and other foreign languages—a significant requirement in preparing the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community--is disappointingly low compared to other ASEAN countries.

The average score of Thais in the TOEFL English language test ranks 55th on a world scale. (MCOT online news)

View the full article