Jobless Numbers Up And Could Go Higher: Thailand

[Thai at Heart]

Again, not sure why there is such an effort on your part to discredit and purposely try to not understand what an unemployment rate measures but what is clear to me is you don't want to get it and there isn't much reason for me to try to enlighten you.

I'm not sure if you are unaware that you are being fed <deleted>, or if you like the taste.

My g/f is unemployed. There is no government assistance, financial or to help her find a job. The type of work she seeks is unlikely to be advertised in a newspaper. So how is her unemployment registered and/or entered into statistics? How do millions of other minimum wage un-employees get counted?

For gods sake .. I have covered this numerous times and a simple internet search will provide you with the answers you seek, The accepted way to figure Unemployment Rates in a country has absolutely nothing to do with government assistance or being registered with the government for work.

When you read about number of people who smoke ... do you really think they poll every person in the country? Surveys and polls are conducted be it in the US, UK or Thailand as a way to measure the number of people who are actively seeking work (not sitting around hoping a job comes there way) but have not found a job.

Thailand has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world and there is no credible government or entity that I am aware that disputes this and in fact all of them that I am aware understand and accept this. Again simply do a little research.

The proper come back would be how all the jobs here are crap and low paying and a bunch of lazy Thais who don't want to work and all the other stuff that helps you feel better but please don't argue with the fact unemployment rates (measured in the globally accepted way) are one of the lowest here.

It is largely pointless to compare stats in the more developed world with Thailand, when there is are millions of subsistence, level farmers living to partially feed themselves with their own crops.

Comparing the Thai figures with the West is pointless, and one is 1st world the other close to 2nd. So woopee, and Thailand has a statistical unemployment rate, and under 1percent, and but it probably only has 10mn paying jobs that don't involve working for ones own family in some shape or format or aren't minimum of wage.

[cup-O-coffee]

Again, not sure why there is such an effort on your part to discredit and purposely try to not understand what an unemployment rate measures but what is clear to me is you don't want to get it and there isn't much reason for me to try to enlighten you.

I'm not sure if you are unaware that you are being fed <deleted>, or if you like the taste.

My g/f is unemployed. There is no government assistance, financial or to help her find a job. The type of work she seeks is unlikely to be advertised in a newspaper. So how is her unemployment registered and/or entered into statistics? How do millions of other minimum wage un-employees get counted?

For gods sake .. I have covered this numerous times and a simple internet search will provide you with the answers you seek, The accepted way to figure Unemployment Rates in a country has absolutely nothing to do with government assistance or being registered with the government for work.

When you read about number of people who smoke ... do you really think they poll every person in the country? Surveys and polls are conducted be it in the US, UK or Thailand as a way to measure the number of people who are actively seeking work (not sitting around hoping a job comes there way) but have not found a job.

Thailand has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world and there is no credible government or entity that I am aware that disputes this and in fact all of them that I am aware understand and accept this. Again simply do a little research.

The proper come back would be how all the jobs here are crap and low paying and a bunch of lazy Thais who don't want to work and all the other stuff that helps you feel better but please don't argue with the fact unemployment rates (measured in the globally accepted way) are one of the lowest here.

I've read you replies, and it seems you hinge your entire thesis on the credibility of the polls and what the Internet tells you, whilst totally ignoring the views of the posters who actually live here and are not stupid to reality.

How about getting away from your keyboard and going to, say, Home Pro and noting all the orange-shirted employees standing around in groups, blocking the aisle ways and doing nothing; helping no one; not being able to show you where anything is, or even being able to describe a product to you that is not already described on its manufacturer's tag?

My wife and I went to BBB yesterday to do some business. There were eight (8) girls there sitting on their asses scowling at us as we walked through the door. It took 20 minutes for one girl to begrudgingly do what I could have done in 1 minute. On the way out I asked them about their TV display, showing an HTPC readout on the screen. They did not know what HTPC was and did not even know that the main server is based in the BBB server. No smiles once throughout the entire affair.

The day before that we went to McDonald's. They did not put enough fries on the super-sized (up-sigh) fry carton. I went back to get the right amount of fries and was engaged by a Bull-dyke manager who corrected me by telling in an aggressive and impolite tone of voice that "We have standards and we are supposed to serve 18 grams of fries". I told her to show me 18 grams of fries and the difference was significant. No apology and only scowls from the idiots who were more concerned about their face than the customer and the fact that McDonald's is entrusting the Thais to represent McDonald's standards of quality and customer service. More scowl's.

I can't keep a Thai worker for longer than 6 months because they all go through the same childish, slothful routines that are counter-productive to western standards. I sack them and go back to the pool of under-qualified applicants whose first question at the interview is, How much are you going to pay me?". End of interview. or I get applicants with University degrees who want to start out at 40,000 THB per month, including benefits. Yup! You guessed it... their first question is "How much are you going to pay me?". End of interview; and I refuse to interview University grads anymore because their heads are up their asses and they think it is a bright room filled with opportunity... at your expense.

I am tired of getting Thai customer service where they seem to be listening to you, but in reality they are waiting for you to stop expressing your wishes so they can parrot something that is "good enough for you" and it may have nothing to do with the needs or wishes you are there for.

I have been trained by these ignorant "workers" so that I write down the product manufacturer, make and model number and do the research myself in the Internet, where I can get correct, objective information the about the product or service that I need. When we go shopping, I do not allow a Thai to utter irritating, stupid nonsensical sales pitches for longer than 1 minute before we move on. And there are usually three or four others that appear from their hiding places to stand around as support so they don't have to go elsewhere in the store and be productive.

I am tired of service contracts that are designed to make you feel that they are doing you a favor instead of the other way around. I am tired of not being informed by the significant details of a purchase that make me a better informed consumer.

"Holding a job" and "being gainfully employed as a qualified worker who understands that the customer is the one paying the salary" are two different things. There are a lot of Thais who hold jobs, but but the similarities stop right there. Whether you purchase or not, they are glad to see you go, and forget about you in an instant.

I am not impressed with "how the job rates are". I just want good customer service, good product quality and informative staff without the hassle. As far as I am concerned, those who have jobs are merely ornaments to stuff the statistics with false information. They are no different than the unemployed other than they have found a way to "have a job" and receive free benefits without doing anything in return.

You do not need to rely on Polls to know the truth.

Edited August 30, 2012 by cup-O-coffee

[Nisa]

Again, not sure why there is such an effort on your part to discredit and purposely try to not understand what an unemployment rate measures but what is clear to me is you don't want to get it and there isn't much reason for me to try to enlighten you.

I'm not sure if you are unaware that you are being fed <deleted>, or if you like the taste.

My g/f is unemployed. There is no government assistance, financial or to help her find a job. The type of work she seeks is unlikely to be advertised in a newspaper. So how is her unemployment registered and/or entered into statistics? How do millions of other minimum wage un-employees get counted?

For gods sake .. I have covered this numerous times and a simple internet search will provide you with the answers you seek, The accepted way to figure Unemployment Rates in a country has absolutely nothing to do with government assistance or being registered with the government for work.

When you read about number of people who smoke ... do you really think they poll every person in the country? Surveys and polls are conducted be it in the US, UK or Thailand as a way to measure the number of people who are actively seeking work (not sitting around hoping a job comes there way) but have not found a job.

Thailand has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world and there is no credible government or entity that I am aware that disputes this and in fact all of them that I am aware understand and accept this. Again simply do a little research.

The proper come back would be how all the jobs here are crap and low paying and a bunch of lazy Thais who don't want to work and all the other stuff that helps you feel better but please don't argue with the fact unemployment rates (measured in the globally accepted way) are one of the lowest here.

I've read you replies, and it seems you hinge your entire thesis on the credibility of the polls and what the Internet tells you, whilst totally ignoring the views of the posters who actually live here and are not stupid to reality.

How about getting away from your keyboard and going to, say, Home Pro and noting all the orange-shirted employees standing around in groups, blocking the aisle ways and doing nothing; helping no one; not being able to show you where anything is, or even being able to describe a product to you that is not already described on its manufacturer's tag?

My wife and I went to BBB yesterday to do some business. There were eight (8) girls there sitting on their asses scowling at us as we walked through the door. It took 20 minutes for one girl to begrudgingly do what I could have done in 1 minute. On the way out I asked them about their TV display, showing an HTPC readout on the screen. They did not know what HTPC was and did not even know that the main server is based in the BBB server. No smiles once throughout the entire affair.

The day before that we went to McDonald's. They did not put enough fries on the super-sized (up-sigh) fry carton. I went back to get the right amount of fries and was engaged by a Bull-dyke manager who corrected me by telling in an aggressive and impolite tone of voice that "We have standards and we are supposed to serve 18 grams of fries". I told her to show me 18 grams of fries and the difference was significant. No apology and only scowls from the idiots who were more concerned about their face than the customer and the fact that McDonald's is entrusting the Thais to represent McDonald's standards of quality and customer service. More scowl's.

I can't keep a Thai worker for longer than 6 months because they all go through the same childish, slothful routines that are counter-productive to western standards. I sack them and go back to the pool of under-qualified applicants whose first question at the interview is, How much are you going to pay me?". End of interview. or I get applicants with University degrees who want to start out at 40,000 THB per month, including benefits. Yup! You guessed it... their first question is "How much are you going to pay me?". End of interview; and I refuse to interview University grads anymore because their heads are up their asses and they think it is a bright room filled with opportunity... at your expense.

I am tired of getting Thai customer service where they seem to be listening to you, but in reality they are waiting for you to stop expressing your wishes so they can parrot something that is "good enough for you" and it may have nothing to do with the needs or wishes you are there for.

I have been trained by these ignorant "workers" so that I write down the product manufacturer, make and model number and do the research myself in the Internet, where I can get correct, objective information the about the product or service that I need. When we go shopping, I do not allow a Thai to utter irritating, stupid nonsensical sales pitches for longer than 1 minute before we move on. And there are usually three or four others that appear from their hiding places to stand around as support so they don't have to go elsewhere in the store and be productive.

I am tired of service contracts that are designed to make you feel that they are doing you a favor instead of the other way around. I am tired of not being informed by the significant details of a purchase that make me a better informed consumer.

"Holding a job" and "being gainfully employed as a qualified worker who understands that the customer is the one paying the salary" are two different things. There are a lot of Thais who hold jobs, but but the similarities stop right there. Whether you purchase or not, they are glad to see you go, and forget about you in an instant.

I am not impressed with "how the job rates are". I just want good customer service, good product quality and informative staff without the hassle. As far as I am concerned, those who have jobs are merely ornaments to stuff the statistics with false information. They are no different than the unemployed other than they have found a way to "have a job" and receive free benefits without doing anything in return.

You do not need to rely on Polls to know the truth.

Wow, sounds like a pretty depressing life you live but not sure what it has to do with the topic. Maybe it is about time you go home where highly educated McDonald workers will be in shock to know you didn't get the correct portion of fries and go into crisis mode to make sure the whining customer demanding proof he received his full 18 grams of fries is compensated for his troubles.

[dazk]

where are all these unemployed send them my way we have terrible trouble finding people to come work, also one of my suppliers in bkk have trouble getting staff he says there are just to many factories in the area and not enough people looking for work

lazy work shy ba!%&rds that what i say, just like the rest of the world i suppose

[Nisa]

where are all these unemployed send them my way we have terrible trouble finding people to come work, also one of my suppliers in bkk have trouble getting staff he says there are just to many factories in the area and not enough people looking for work

lazy work shy ba!%&rds that what i say, just like the rest of the world i suppose

While there is no doubt Thailand has its fair share of lazy people, I think it is more about people being resourceful and the low wages here. I think there are a good number of people who find ways to make a few hundred baht a day in a much more easier way (though sometimes not technically legal) than working at a company for 10 hours a day 6 or 7 days a week.

Also, we shouldn't confuse laziness with a cultural attitude of having fun and being content regardless of being at work or during free time. The whole grind of the west and killing yourself to get ahead so you can die with a few more toys or defining your self esteem and who you are through your work is not one the majority of working class type in Thailand share.

And in some way you need to look back in our past to see similar attitudes of others when people would get a job at a company and work there 20 or 30 years in almost the same role but content getting their periodic increases that allow them to survive and raise a family. Now in the west (at least the US), I think the average time an employee stays at a company is about 3-years.

[dazk]

where are all these unemployed send them my way we have terrible trouble finding people to come work, also one of my suppliers in bkk have trouble getting staff he says there are just to many factories in the area and not enough people looking for work

lazy work shy ba!%&rds that what i say, just like the rest of the world i suppose

While there is no doubt Thailand has its fair share of lazy people, I think it is more about people being resourceful and the low wages here. I think there are a good number of people who find ways to make a few hundred baht a day in a much more easier way (though sometimes not technically legal) than working at a company for 10 hours a day 6 or 7 days a week.

Also, we shouldn't confuse laziness with a cultural attitude of having fun and being content regardless of being at work or during free time. The whole grind of the west and killing yourself to get ahead so you can die with a few more toys or defining your self esteem and who you are through your work is not one the majority of working class type in Thailand share.

And in some way you need to look back in our past to see similar attitudes of others when people would get a job at a company and work there 20 or 30 years in almost the same role but content getting their periodic increases that allow them to survive and raise a family. Now in the west (at least the US), I think the average time an employee stays at a company is about 3-years.

dont get me wrong im not saying its just the thais that are lazy there is the same problem in the uk and the rest of europe no doubt, but they are lazy workers you have to be on top of them all the time, well that my experience from employing restaurant staff and builders

Edited August 31, 2012 by dazk

[cup-O-coffee]

Wow, sounds like a pretty depressing life you live but not sure what it has to do with the topic. Maybe it is about time you go home where highly educated McDonald workers will be in shock to know you didn't get the correct portion of fries and go into crisis mode to make sure the whining customer demanding proof he received his full 18 grams of fries is compensated for his troubles.

Another "go home" person who adores Thai incompetence and enjoys being fed their form of crap customer service? Sheesh. Thanks for the suggestion, but I'll pass.I guess that the way you interpret what I type and how you defend incompetence would seem to demonstrate your general gullibility and reaction towards the "Polls" you read?

Incidentally, it is my view that asking someone politely to correct an error is not whining.

[Nisa]

Wow, sounds like a pretty depressing life you live but not sure what it has to do with the topic. Maybe it is about time you go home where highly educated McDonald workers will be in shock to know you didn't get the correct portion of fries and go into crisis mode to make sure the whining customer demanding proof he received his full 18 grams of fries is compensated for his troubles.

Another "go home" person who adores Thai incompetence and enjoys being fed their form of crap customer service? Sheesh. Thanks for the suggestion, but I'll pass.I guess that the way you interpret what I type and how you defend incompetence would seem to demonstrate your general gullibility and reaction towards the "Polls" you read?

Incidentally, it is my view that asking someone politely to correct an error is not whining.

Dude, trust me, if you had to get into how many grams of fries you received with your order, you weren't making a polite request. Be it Thailand or the back home, if for some strange reason I felt the need to get more fries, i would simply put a smile on my face and ask if they could give me a few extra and would get them. However, in all the decades on this planet and years in Thailand, I never felt the need to complain about how many grams of fries I got. Although my previous comments about going were sarcasm that seemed to escape you, I now have to wonder why you remain Thailand if you think so low of the people and have such difficulty with the service you get here.

[cup-O-coffee]

Wow, sounds like a pretty depressing life you live but not sure what it has to do with the topic. Maybe it is about time you go home where highly educated McDonald workers will be in shock to know you didn't get the correct portion of fries and go into crisis mode to make sure the whining customer demanding proof he received his full 18 grams of fries is compensated for his troubles.

Another "go home" person who adores Thai incompetence and enjoys being fed their form of crap customer service? Sheesh. Thanks for the suggestion, but I'll pass.I guess that the way you interpret what I type and how you defend incompetence would seem to demonstrate your general gullibility and reaction towards the "Polls" you read?

Incidentally, it is my view that asking someone politely to correct an error is not whining.

Dude, trust me, if you had to get into how many grams of fries you received with your order, you weren't making a polite request. Be it Thailand or the back home, if for some strange reason I felt the need to get more fries, i would simply put a smile on my face and ask if they could give me a few extra and would get them. However, in all the decades on this planet and years in Thailand, I never felt the need to complain about how many grams of fries I got. Although my previous comments about going were sarcasm that seemed to escape you, I now have to wonder why you remain Thailand if you think so low of the people and have such difficulty with the service you get here.

And you may continue to wonder, since I am aware of an irritating itch on the side of my neck that will only go away if I ignore it.

[ttelise]

Wow, sounds like a pretty depressing life you live but not sure what it has to do with the topic. Maybe it is about time you go home where highly educated McDonald workers will be in shock to know you didn't get the correct portion of fries and go into crisis mode to make sure the whining customer demanding proof he received his full 18 grams of fries is compensated for his troubles.

Another "go home" person who adores Thai incompetence and enjoys being fed their form of crap customer service? Sheesh. Thanks for the suggestion, but I'll pass.I guess that the way you interpret what I type and how you defend incompetence would seem to demonstrate your general gullibility and reaction towards the "Polls" you read?

Incidentally, it is my view that asking someone politely to correct an error is not whining.

Dude, trust me, if you had to get into how many grams of fries you received with your order, you weren't making a polite request. Be it Thailand or the back home, if for some strange reason I felt the need to get more fries, i would simply put a smile on my face and ask if they could give me a few extra and would get them. However, in all the decades on this planet and years in Thailand, I never felt the need to complain about how many grams of fries I got. Although my previous comments about going were sarcasm that seemed to escape you, I now have to wonder why you remain Thailand if you think so low of the people and have such difficulty with the service you get here.

And you may continue to wonder, since I am aware of an irritating itch on the side of my neck that will only go away if I ignore it.

Haha, a can of Deet won't keep that away.

[PaullyW]

Again, not sure why there is such an effort on your part to discredit and purposely try to not understand what an unemployment rate measures but what is clear to me is you don't want to get it and there isn't much reason for me to try to enlighten you.

I'm not sure if you are unaware that you are being fed <deleted>, or if you like the taste.

My g/f is unemployed. There is no government assistance, financial or to help her find a job. The type of work she seeks is unlikely to be advertised in a newspaper. So how is her unemployment registered and/or entered into statistics? How do millions of other minimum wage un-employees get counted?

For gods sake .. I have covered this numerous times and a simple internet search will provide you with the answers you seek, The accepted way to figure Unemployment Rates in a country has absolutely nothing to do with government assistance or being registered with the government for work.

When you read about number of people who smoke ... do you really think they poll every person in the country? Surveys and polls are conducted be it in the US, UK or Thailand as a way to measure the number of people who are actively seeking work (not sitting around hoping a job comes there way) but have not found a job.

Thailand has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world and there is no credible government or entity that I am aware that disputes this and in fact all of them that I am aware understand and accept this. Again simply do a little research.

The proper come back would be how all the jobs here are crap and low paying and a bunch of lazy Thais who don't want to work and all the other stuff that helps you feel better but please don't argue with the fact unemployment rates (measured in the globally accepted way) are one of the lowest here.

I've read you replies, and it seems you hinge your entire thesis on the credibility of the polls and what the Internet tells you, whilst totally ignoring the views of the posters who actually live here and are not stupid to reality.

How about getting away from your keyboard and going to, say, Home Pro and noting all the orange-shirted employees standing around in groups, blocking the aisle ways and doing nothing; helping no one; not being able to show you where anything is, or even being able to describe a product to you that is not already described on its manufacturer's tag?

My wife and I went to BBB yesterday to do some business. There were eight (8) girls there sitting on their asses scowling at us as we walked through the door. It took 20 minutes for one girl to begrudgingly do what I could have done in 1 minute. On the way out I asked them about their TV display, showing an HTPC readout on the screen. They did not know what HTPC was and did not even know that the main server is based in the BBB server. No smiles once throughout the entire affair.

The day before that we went to McDonald's. They did not put enough fries on the super-sized (up-sigh) fry carton. I went back to get the right amount of fries and was engaged by a Bull-dyke manager who corrected me by telling in an aggressive and impolite tone of voice that "We have standards and we are supposed to serve 18 grams of fries". I told her to show me 18 grams of fries and the difference was significant. No apology and only scowls from the idiots who were more concerned about their face than the customer and the fact that McDonald's is entrusting the Thais to represent McDonald's standards of quality and customer service. More scowl's.

I can't keep a Thai worker for longer than 6 months because they all go through the same childish, slothful routines that are counter-productive to western standards. I sack them and go back to the pool of under-qualified applicants whose first question at the interview is, How much are you going to pay me?". End of interview. or I get applicants with University degrees who want to start out at 40,000 THB per month, including benefits. Yup! You guessed it... their first question is "How much are you going to pay me?". End of interview; and I refuse to interview University grads anymore because their heads are up their asses and they think it is a bright room filled with opportunity... at your expense.

I am tired of getting Thai customer service where they seem to be listening to you, but in reality they are waiting for you to stop expressing your wishes so they can parrot something that is "good enough for you" and it may have nothing to do with the needs or wishes you are there for.

I have been trained by these ignorant "workers" so that I write down the product manufacturer, make and model number and do the research myself in the Internet, where I can get correct, objective information the about the product or service that I need. When we go shopping, I do not allow a Thai to utter irritating, stupid nonsensical sales pitches for longer than 1 minute before we move on. And there are usually three or four others that appear from their hiding places to stand around as support so they don't have to go elsewhere in the store and be productive.

I am tired of service contracts that are designed to make you feel that they are doing you a favor instead of the other way around. I am tired of not being informed by the significant details of a purchase that make me a better informed consumer.

"Holding a job" and "being gainfully employed as a qualified worker who understands that the customer is the one paying the salary" are two different things. There are a lot of Thais who hold jobs, but but the similarities stop right there. Whether you purchase or not, they are glad to see you go, and forget about you in an instant.

I am not impressed with "how the job rates are". I just want good customer service, good product quality and informative staff without the hassle. As far as I am concerned, those who have jobs are merely ornaments to stuff the statistics with false information. They are no different than the unemployed other than they have found a way to "have a job" and receive free benefits without doing anything in return.

You do not need to rely on Polls to know the truth.

You can never convince Nisa. Nisa's confidence in everything Thai is unbreakable. The Thais are not lazy, they just really enjoy not working hard... You have to look at the bright side of things.

[hellodolly]

Unemployment up because of increased minimum wage - who would have imagined it? But I'm sure the unemployed are happy with the higher wage they are not getting.

"NESDB noted that a survey conducted earlier this year showed about one million Thai children were depressed and annoyed for unknown reasons."

One of the annoyances might be answering stupid survey questions.

Or the failure to get their pad.

[bkk_mike]

English Proficiency Index

http://www.ef.com/epi/ef-epi-ranking/

1 Norway 69.09 Very High Proficiency

2 Netherlands 67.93 Very High Proficiency

3 Denmark 66.58 Very High Proficiency

4 Sweden 66.26 Very High Proficiency

5 Finland 61.25 Very High Proficiency

6 Austria 58.58 High Proficiency

7 Belgium 57.23 High Proficiency

8 Germany 56.64 High Proficiency

9 Malaysia 55.54 High Proficiency

10 Poland 54.62 Moderate Proficiency

11 Switzerland 54.60 Moderate Proficiency

12 Hong Kong 54.44 Moderate Proficiency

13 South Korea 54.19 Moderate Proficiency

14 Japan 54.17 Moderate Proficiency

15 Portugal 53.62 Moderate Proficiency

16 Argentina 53.49 Moderate Proficiency

17 France 53.16 Moderate Proficiency

18 Mexico 51.48 Moderate Proficiency

19 Czech Republic 51.31 Moderate Proficiency

20 Hungary 50.80 Moderate Proficiency

21 Slovakia 50.64 Moderate Proficiency

22 Costa Rica 49.15 Low Proficiency

23 Italy 49.05 Low Proficiency

24 Spain 49.01 Low Proficiency

25 Taiwan 48.93 Low Proficiency

26 Saudi Arabia 48.05 Low Proficiency

27 Guatemala 47.80 Low Proficiency

28 El Salvador 47.65 Low Proficiency

29 China 47.62 Low Proficiency

30 India 47.35 Low Proficiency

31 Brazil 47.27 Low Proficiency

32 Russia 45.79 Low Proficiency

33 Dominican Republic 44.91 Very Low Proficiency

34 Indonesia 44.78 Very Low Proficiency

35 Peru 44.71 Very Low Proficiency

36 Chile 44.63 Very Low Proficiency

37 Ecuador 44.54 Very Low Proficiency

38 Venezuela 44.43 Very Low Proficiency

39 Vietnam 44.32 Very Low Proficiency

40 Panama 43.62 Very Low Proficiency

41 Colombia 42.77 Very Low Proficiency

42 Thailand 39.41 Very Low Proficiency

43 Turkey 37.66 Very Low Proficiency

44 Kazakhstan 31.74 Very Low Proficiency

I think that's last years index.

Thailand is 53rd out of 54 this year (they changed it around a bit so that countries that had better listening skills moved up, and presumably those with worse listening ability in English moved down).

http://www.ef.co.th/epi/downloads/

Yay - Thailand is better than Libya at speaking English. (for how much longer though - I'm sure Colonel Gaddafi was probably against teaching the English Language in schools).

[Postmaster]

The Invisible Farang is right. English is the International Language of Business. Why on earth would you want to encourage Malay ! Leave it to the Muslims

[wellred]

When ASEAN kicks in is there the potential for this to worsen? If locals are not well equipped with other languages they may not be able to find work abroad. But on the other hand I'm sure many from neighbouring countries who will grasp Thai will come in and snap up jobs.

Apologies if someone has already asked this. I'm too lazy to read all the posts.