27-11-2023 (BANGKOK) Thailand’s employment growth experienced a deceleration in the July-September period, reaching its lowest rate in five quarters, as weak exports weighed on the economy, according to official data released on Monday.
The National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) reported that Thailand’s labor force comprised 40.1 million individuals in the third quarter of this year, reflecting a 1.3 percent year-on-year increase. This marks a slowdown from the 1.7 percent expansion recorded in the preceding three months.
The primary contributor to the growth was the agricultural sector, which saw a 2.0 percent year-on-year increase, resulting in 12.6 million jobs, as highlighted by the NESDC in an official statement.
Within non-farm sectors, there was notable growth in employment within the hotels and restaurants industry, experiencing an 8.3 percent jump from the previous year. This surge was attributed to a nearly double increase in inbound tourists during the specified period.
Conversely, the manufacturing sector witnessed a more modest increase of 0.6 percent in employment, driven by production geared towards domestic consumption. However, employment in export-oriented manufacturing faced a decline due to subdued global demand, according to the NESDC statement.
The unemployment rate in Thailand was recorded at 0.99 percent in the third quarter, a slight decrease from 1.06 percent in the April-June period, as reported by the NESDC.
