2020 Q1-Q2 employment reaches 3-year high

 

   

BANGKOK(NNT) - Despite the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, data from the Department of Industrial Works suggests an unexpected increase in employee demands in the first half of this year, due to business expansions and new factory openings.

 

The Department of Industrial Works’ (DIW) Director General Prakob Vivitjinda, has disclosed a 10.22 percent year-on-year increase in industrial factory openings and expansion requests in the first six months of 2020, numbering 1,702 businesses, worth 170 billion baht of investment.

 

He said the COVID-19 pandemic had yet to directly affect investments in that period, as most investments had been planned well in advance.

 

The investment figure of 170 billion baht is actually lower than in the previous year, however the increased activity created some 120,000 new jobs, marking a 79.23 percent increase, and the highest new worker demand in three years.

 

The DIW is expecting a surge in workers’ demands in this sector will help alleviate the issue of unemployment due to COVID-19, and support some new graduates this year.

 

Most factory opening or expansion requests in this period came from the food industry, followed by plastic products and plant product manufacturing.

 

The DIW has detected no irregular pattern of factory closures, with only 402 factories closed in the first half of this year, which is fewer than the 665 factories closed during the same period last year.

 

The department is however closely monitoring the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in the latter half of this year, while keeping an optimistic outlook that the excellent disease control protocols and responses, might help raise the confidence of investors.

 

The DIW has put a proposal to the Ministry of Industry for five social and economic development projects worth 148 million baht, including a machine to capital project; a safety, energy, and environmental standards enhancement project for factories; and a productivity enhancement project for SMEs.

 

Source: http://thainews.prd.go.th/en/news/detail/TCATG200702111004446

 

-- © Copyright NNT 2020-07-02

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

Sounds like the cover up has started

They find magic in everything!

Good news citizens: the chocolate ration has increased to 20 grams a week.

(reference to George Orwell's 1984)

1 hour ago, webfact said:

2020 Q1-Q2 employment reaches 3-year high

So lemme get this straight......

 

Airports were basically closed, Malls closed, Restaurants closed,

massage shops closed, bars closed, Hotels just as well closed as rooms were empty,

All tourism related service people not working...........

and yet 2020 Q1-Q2 employment at 3 year high???

 

Ok .......

You put the lime in the coconut, you drink 'em bot' together
Put the lime in the coconut and you'll feel better ????????

Edited July 2, 20206 yr by meechai

hehehehehe, all the doom and gloom merchants on TV saying the whole country was made unemployed due to Covid....Clueless they are but maybe one day they will realise the whole country does not revolve are few seedy beer bars !!!

I do sometimes wonder if these people actually know what's going on outside BKK....????

I was expecting to find a typo in the headline!

 

13 minutes ago, transam said:

I do sometimes wonder if these people actually know what's going on outside BKK....????

The answer is: Bangkok is the whole of Thailand and Thailand revolves around Bangkok.   Just think thst had it not been for that Muay Thai Fight, Thailand would never have been infected by Covid. Yes Sarcasm on my part

The area I live in depends on (1) agriculture and (2) factory work. No tourism.

 

Neither were in any way affected by COVID (so far....knock on wood) and so far no sign of any adverse economic impact apparent, people spending and shopping as usual. Including big purchases like new car.

More Bull from the Hub of Bull !

Just now, trainman34014 said:

More Bull from the Hub of Bull !

You have the data to make that call ?

Doesn't make much sense when last i heard millions were receiving the 5k baht a month compensation for the govt killing the economy

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

I was expecting to find a typo in the headline!

 

me too

The guy certainly knows how to polish a urd. Being optimistic is one thing but telling absolute porkies is another. I am a glass full type of person but this guys glass, just doesn't seem to ever be empty.

2 hours ago, Sheryl said:

The area I live in depends on (1) agriculture and (2) factory work. No tourism.

 

Neither were in any way affected by COVID (so far....knock on wood) and so far no sign of any adverse economic impact apparent, people spending and shopping as usual. Including big purchases like new car.

Same in my area except we have no factories but the farmers are living off of debt and the last years harvest. This years harvest (where I am) is in doubt as the rain hasn't been to plentiful so no idea what is going to happen. Tescos is full as always so are the markets as of yet I see no hardship openly, having said that My son who is now 12 has to start a privat school for secondary education, 19,000 Baht for the year, my MIL has noticed many parents having to go to the pawn shop to get this money but maybe that is normal I don't know.

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The Department of Industrial Works’ (DIW)

They are even better than T.A.T, at pulling numbers out of their ....,I mean hat .

regards Worgeordie

4 hours ago, Don Mega said:

hehehehehe, all the doom and gloom merchants on TV saying the whole country was made unemployed due to Covid....Clueless they are but maybe one day they will realise the whole country does not revolve are few seedy beer bars !!!

No they are not. Firstly, you only have to look around. And secondly and more importantly, you can only count statistics if they are recordable. The tw.ts here can only base their 'figures' on those registered and paying Tax. A vast proportion of Thais work daily and hand to mouth. Go figure!!

Given how many are on the roads I suspect everyone is working for Grab and Food Panda.

13 minutes ago, DPKANKAN said:

No they are not. Firstly, you only have to look around. And secondly and more importantly, you can only count statistics if they are recordable. The tw.ts here can only base their 'figures' on those registered and paying Tax. A vast proportion of Thais work daily and hand to mouth. Go figure!!

 

What you see when you look around depends very much on what part of the country you are in.

 

Everything looks perfectly fine where I am. There is likely going to be more problems due to the drought 6 months down the line or so than there ever was from COVID.

 

Obviously it will look different in areas where tourism was an important part if the economy, but that is not the whole country.

 

 

The rain clouds are a bit shy around here.   If we don't get more rain this week a lot of rice farmers will be in trouble.  No factories to speak of but quite a few returnees from Rayong and other Eastern seaboard areas as factories lay off workers.  I said it before, the crunch will come September to November as export orders dry up and tourist numbers don't reach targets.

.

7 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

 

What you see when you look around depends very much on what part of the country you are in.

 

Everything looks perfectly fine where I am. There is likely going to be more problems due to the drought 6 months down the line or so than there ever was from COVID.

 

Obviously it will look different in areas where tourism was an important part if the economy, but that is not the whole country.

 

 

Yes.

 

There is major pain in Pattaya and along the coasts in general, but not so much elsewhere.

 

In my area, it is life as normal, save for the masks, and many farmers are using the unexpected 15,000 baht handover to buy cows, pushing the prices ever higher.

5 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Sounds like the cover up has started

You can smell the whitewash...

2 hours ago, DPKANKAN said:

No they are not. Firstly, you only have to look around. And secondly and more importantly, you can only count statistics if they are recordable. The tw.ts here can only base their 'figures' on those registered and paying Tax. A vast proportion of Thais work daily and hand to mouth. Go figure!!

But but the many on TV were claiming the whole country was made unemployed..... Quiet clearly they were wrong, very wrong.

1 hour ago, Brunolem said:

 and many farmers are using the unexpected 15,000 baht handover to buy cows, pushing the prices ever higher.

My inlaws used the money to put a new roof on their house, my missus got the 5k a month thingo and she put the money towards a scooter for herself. !!

On 7/2/2020 at 5:01 PM, Grumpy John said:

The rain clouds are a bit shy around here.   If we don't get more rain this week a lot of rice farmers will be in trouble.  No factories to speak of but quite a few returnees from Rayong and other Eastern seaboard areas as factories lay off workers.  I said it before, the crunch will come September to November as export orders dry up and tourist numbers don't reach targets.

.

 

I think tourism effects are already here, but as it is (contrary to what some seem to think) not the main driver of the Thai economy, and very much location specific, the effects are limited to certain regions.

 

Exports however are the mainstay of the Thai economy and if the market dries up, or even diminishes significantly, it will have a big impact.  Cambodia is already hurting from decline in garment exports and same could hit the Thai export market, which is more machinery and  electronics.

 

The Thai tradition of close knit families helps at times like this, just as it did during the big economic collapse of the late 1990's which I remember well. People do not tend to  stay in place, unemployed, hungry, when they lose their jobs. They return to their home villages where they are given food and shelter from family, and often turn their hand to other activities, helping out on the family farm etc. Not as lucrative to be sure, but it is not the picture some paint of hordes of starving people in the cities due to lack of tourists.

7 hours ago, webfact said:

with only 402 factories closed in the first half of this year, which is fewer than the 665 factories closed during the same period last year

Or put another way, Thailand has lost 1067 factories the first 6 months of the last two years, if that is reflected in the last 6 months of last year, that is about 1600 factories closing over Thailand in 18 months, or near 90 factories closing every month - how on earth is that POSITIVE ?

 

7 hours ago, webfact said:

however the increased activity created some 120,000 new jobs, marking a 79.23 percent increase, and the highest new worker demand in three years.

 I think their is a fair bit of spin on this , posting 120,000 new jobs , but failing to say they lost 2-3 million jobs in the process

21 hours ago, transam said:

I do sometimes wonder if these people actually know what's going on outside BKK....????

It's life Jim

But not as we know it.