Unemployment in Thailand: stats and facts

[Brunolem]

According to the official stats, the unemployment rate in Thailand has been hovering around 2% for years.

Quite an achievement, since 5% unemployment is generally considered as full employment, and below that figure, the economy may be overheating.

 

For comparison, the highly trump-ed up American stats show an unemployment rate around 4%, only achieved after booting out of the workforce almost one hundred million working age people!

 

Yet, Thailand wouldn't resort to tricks like that, would it?

 

A couple of years ago, I was talking with a Thai businessman in Bangkok.

It was a week day, in the middle of the afternoon, and at some point I told him something like that:

 

"Look, you see all these traffic jams...they go on all day...how is that possible?...what are these people doing? How can they afford to spend hours in the middle of the afternoon waiting in their cars?...in Europe, we have peak hours, in the early morning, and in the evening, when traffic is terrible, but in the middle of the afternoon, driving is easy, because people are at work".

 

The Thai businessman had no answer.

 

Are these people stuck in traffic jams, day after day, employed...to drive for the sake of it?

 

And it doesn't stop with traffic.

If you go at any hour of the day to the post office, administrations, banks and so on, you have to wait in line, often for a very long times, and the people in front of you are not retirees!

Maybe the Thai employers are very staff friendly, granting their employees whatever time they need to go about their private business during working hours, because in a 2% unemployment economy, everybody works!

 

Comparatively, you see much less non-retirees out during working hours in European countries, despite their 10% average unemployment rate, than in Thailand with its 2% rate.

 

How come?

[robblok]

I think your going a bit overboard (seen you do it before). I am not going to attack you on how high the unemployment rate is, because we just don't know. But I am going to correct you on your traffic jams. You forget that many people are self employed and many have to visit clients. These people can go to post offices when they want and often employees go to post offices for their bosses ect ect. I take it you have never had your own company ? Then you know how flexible you can be. 

 

Also as BKK resident, I KNOW for a fact that there is rush hour and a period outside of rush hour. So your observation of all day long is crazy and just not true. If I pick my times good I can get into BKK without much traffic. 

Edited June 25, 2018 by robblok

[tropo]

24 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

For comparison, the highly trump-ed up American stats show an unemployment rate around 4%, only achieved after booting out of the workforce almost one hundred million working age people!

I liked your post for the most part, but it's a pity you spoiled it with a shot at Trump. Enough already. We don't all live in the US, you know... and opinions on Trump differ.

Edited June 25, 2018 by tropo

[allane]

If my country had some fool with a whistle in his mouth at every parking lot, maybe we would have 2 % unemployment too.  Come to think of it, I think I will suggest that. Perhaps I will win the award for Citizen of the Year.

[jackdd]

Maybe you should go out more at different times ?

Bangkok just has millions of people, so it's always busy.

Bangkok has rush hours, yes in the middle of Bangkok is always traffic jam, but in the rush hours it's much worse. Between about 7:00 and 10:00 and 16:00 and 20:00 the traffic is much worse than at other times.

Yes, there are always people in the banks, but if you go in the lunch break or after people finish work there are much more people than at other times.

[Swiss1960]

More than 60% of all Thai work in the so called "informal sector" comprising of street vendors, taxi and motorbike drivers, so called self-employed and the gray areas like bars, freelancers etc. Whether these people work only part time or barely make the minimum Thai salary of 300+ Baht a day, they all count as employed. 

 

Additionally, lack of unemployment benefits for a majority of Thais (they never have jobs paying social security) never sees them hitting any statistics about employment or the lack thereof.

 

just google "who counts as unemployed in thailand" and you will find loads of articles for this theme, but of course none that the government will approve of...

[jackdd]

1 minute ago, Swiss1960 said:

More than 60% of all Thai work in the so called "informal sector" comprising of street vendors, taxi and motorbike drivers, so called self-employed and the gray areas like bars, freelancers etc. Whether these people work only part time or barely make the minimum Thai salary of 300+ Baht a day, they all count as employed.

And the other 38% work in Homepro, Global House and similar stores.

[KhunBENQ]

6 minutes ago, Swiss1960 said:

Additionally, lack of unemployment benefits for a majority of Thais (they never have jobs paying social security) never sees them hitting any statistics about employment or the lack thereof. 

I advice people to get out of their urban/tourist ghettos to learn that these numbers are complete useless rubbish. What do official numbers say in a country without a proper work/labor office, with no benefits?

Millions sit around, kill time and are fed by the families rice paddy.

They may make brooms and earn 100 or 200 Baht a day.

Employed?

Edited June 25, 2018 by KhunBENQ

[Brunolem]

2 hours ago, tropo said:

I liked your post for the most part, but it's a pity you spoiled it with a shot at Trump. Enough already. We don't all live in the US, you know... and opinions on Trump differ.

I am not American, but I couldn't resist the joke, even though we know very well that the stats were already...trumped up...under Obama...

[tropo]

4 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

I am not American, but I couldn't resist the joke, even though we know very well that the stats were already...trumped up...under Obama...

We don't all know that, and most of us (non-Americans) don't care. I certainly don't waste my time examining US unemployment figures.

[Brunolem]

2 hours ago, jackdd said:

Maybe you should go out more at different times ?

Bangkok just has millions of people, so it's always busy.

Bangkok has rush hours, yes in the middle of Bangkok is always traffic jam, but in the rush hours it's much worse. Between about 7:00 and 10:00 and 16:00 and 20:00 the traffic is much worse than at other times.

Yes, there are always people in the banks, but if you go in the lunch break or after people finish work there are much more people than at other times.

I won't argue on the levels of traffic jams in Bangkok, yet I can say that everytime I go back to Paris, I am amazed by the little traffic, during working hours, compared to Bangkok.

And I don't think it is because Bangkok has a far greater economic activity, with more self-employed people, than Paris!

[KhunBENQ]

2 hours ago, Brunolem said:

I won't argue on the levels of traffic jams in Bangkok, yet I can say that everytime I go back to Paris, I am amazed by the little traffic, during working hours, compared to Bangkok. 

Paris and London have public rail transport systems that beat Bangkok by magnitudes in size.

Now try to imagine it was not there.

Both have excessive fees for parking or even driving to the city (London).

Now imagine: free parking/driving for everyone.

Edited June 25, 2018 by KhunBENQ

[Happyman58]

4 hours ago, jackdd said:

And the other 38% work in Homepro, Global House and similar stores.

I think in the 60% you could throw in the hammock sleepers. Takes a bit of skill to sleep in a hammock during the day considering the heat and traffic noise.Not an easy job you know

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, Happyman58 said:

I think in the 60% you could throw in the hammock sleepers. Takes a bit of skill to sleep in a hammock during the day considering the heat and traffic noise.Not an easy job you know

? not really Global House etc etc have air-con, I asked a young lady at the reception area a long way back why are there so many employees, she explained each item or items have one or more people working for them, I guess that explains maybe the Thai way of employment.

My only concern is the Chang girls are going to be stopped from promotion work, very sad miserable decision in my book.

[toenail]

For my USA "friend"...

http://thehill.com/opinion/finance/358905-dont-be-fooled-by-low-unemployment-figures

 

 

[toenail]

BTW: Every country has their "own way" to figure out unemployment.  If there is no financial government support for people who are unemployed (such as the social services provided in the Western countries) everyone is out trying to make some baht to put food on the table. In Thailand this is no exception.

[CLW]

Count the high (and mostly not busy) workforce at any retail store, restaurant, supermarket etc. plus taxi and motorcycle drivers and you see why there is no unemployment.

In western countries that workforce would be halved or only one quarter and still not hard or busy work.

Why is a 7-11 branch constantly manned with 4 to 5 people 24/7 when there are only two cash desks?

Why there are so many taxis in Bangkok who cause traffic congestion and minimise the rate of passengers per drive per day?

[Mattd]

As per the linked article, the official unemployment rate here really doesn't represent the true unemployment rate, it can't, where do unemployed Thai's from Nakhom Nowhere, or Bangkok for that matter register as unemployed?

 

[Poottrong]

In summary,  rather than an unemployment problem Thailand has an underemployment problem - half the country is doing bits and pieces, "working" on the family farm, dabbling in their own small biz and/or working in the informal sector. They don't have steady 9 to 5 gigs and are not gainfully employed for long steady periods.  There's plenty of the former, hence low unemployment and nowhere near enough of the latter, hence underemployment.

[Aupee]

22 hours ago, Happyman58 said:

I think in the 60% you could throw in the hammock sleepers. Takes a bit of skill to sleep in a hammock during the day considering the heat and traffic noise.Not an easy job you know

Has anyone been in a mega home shop during the week the staff out number the customers.but at week ends its just a little easier to look at some thing without being jumped on ot buy it. There may not be an  unemployment problem but thereis no comfort in browsing and choosing a product in a shop. Home pro staff told me I wouldn't get a warranty with a panasonic shower butt would with some brand I'd never heard of.I went to Tesco and got the same panasonic with 5 yr warranty and a couple of hundred bahts cheaper and I wasn't followed like Mary's little lambI don't love Tesco but at least I wasn't lied to  by an over staffing, and pressure to buy.

[Happyman58]

11 hours ago, Aupee said:

Has anyone been in a mega home shop during the week the staff out number the customers.but at week ends its just a little easier to look at some thing without being jumped on ot buy it. There may not be an  unemployment problem but thereis no comfort in browsing and choosing a product in a shop. Home pro staff told me I wouldn't get a warranty with a panasonic shower butt would with some brand I'd never heard of.I went to Tesco and got the same panasonic with 5 yr warranty and a couple of hundred bahts cheaper and I wasn't followed like Mary's little lambI don't love Tesco but at least I wasn't lied to  by an over staffing, and pressure to buy.

15

You are right. I try and stay away from Home-Pro because i hate being rushed. I like to look at myself but you get staff that follows you. Truth it makes me nervous like you feel you have t buy it. Everywhere you look there are staff standing there  playing with their Mobile phones I wonder if Home Pro would hire all these staffs if wages were higher

[Brunolem]

4 hours ago, Happyman58 said:

You are right. I try and stay away from Home-Pro because i hate being rushed. I like to look at myself but you get staff that follows you. Truth it makes me nervous like you feel you have t buy it. Everywhere you look there are staff standing there  playing with their Mobile phones I wonder if Home Pro would hire all these staffs if wages were higher

And what about AIS?

You go into one of their outlets to pay your bill and you are welcome by enough staff to organize a rugby game, except that this staff is 99% female.

Yet, despite the large number of employees, you still have to wait in line, because only one or two of them are actually working behind a counter doing something useful...the others are merely here for decoration...

[Happyman58]

3 minutes ago, Brunolem said:

And what about AIS?

You go into one of their outlets to pay your bill and you are welcome by enough staff to organize a rugby game, except that this staff is 99% female.

Yet, despite the large number of employees, you still have to wait in line, because only one or two of them are actually working behind a counter doing something useful...the others are merely here for decoration...

Might join AIS lol

[Berkshire]

I don't think the average Thai pays much attention to the unemployment rate.  It doesn't mean anything here, unlike back in, say, the USA.  If the unemployment rate in Thailand was really that low, we'd see a much steeper rise in wages as employers compete for employees.  That's not happening.    

[Poottrong]

There's seems to be a different dynamic working here than in the West. In Thailand workers are cheap so like anything that's cheap you stock up. Workers also tend to be unreliable (trips to the village, unexplained absences, quitting, tardiness etc) so employers tend to get "spares"  because there's a good chance at least one of them could you let you down on any given day.

 

In the West there tends to be much lower staff levels but highly compensated (high hourly rate, holiday pay, sick leave, retirement funds, overtime pay etc) productive employees working their arse off from the time they clock on to leaving. The employers have to get their moneys worth.

 

The problem in the Thai model is that increased labour supply does not always translate to increased productivity!

 

Edited June 27, 2018 by Poottrong

[simoh1490]

On 6/26/2018 at 3:31 PM, Mattd said:

As per the linked article, the official unemployment rate here really doesn't represent the true unemployment rate, it can't, where do unemployed Thai's from Nakhom Nowhere, or Bangkok for that matter register as unemployed?

 

Thai's can register at the unemployment offices in their Amphur where they will be eligible for support payments providing they meet very strict criteria. One of those criteria is that they MUST accept any job offered to them and if they don't they become ineligible for support payments - in practice, support payments are almost never made.

[Scott]

Sorry no quotes or links to BKK post are allowed.  

 

[ExpatOilWorker]

All Thais want a job, but very few wants to work!

[Mattd]

1 hour ago, simoh1490 said:

Thai's can register at the unemployment offices in their Amphur where they will be eligible for support payments providing they meet very strict criteria. One of those criteria is that they MUST accept any job offered to them and if they don't they become ineligible for support payments - in practice, support payments are almost never made.

This is indeed correct, however, 90% just do not bother, a good example is my ex. wife's family, her two sisters had 5 boys between them, none of these got past the age of 13 at school, none of them have ever worked or even make any attempt to work, not claiming anything etc. I would imagine that is likely to be representative of a good percentage of Issan, where the unemployment is probably reasonably high, though due to no other reason than not particularly wanting to work.

[Poottrong]

2 hours ago, Mattd said:

This is indeed correct, however, 90% just do not bother, a good example is my ex. wife's family, her two sisters had 5 boys between them, none of these got past the age of 13 at school, none of them have ever worked or even make any attempt to work, not claiming anything etc. I would imagine that is likely to be representative of a good percentage of Issan, where the unemployment is probably reasonably high, though due to no other reason than not particularly wanting to work.

How much are the support payments? If it's too low a lot won't bother, especially if there's a whole heap of running back and forth with paper work and waiting in long ques.