NESDB: Thailand facing unemployment problem

[baneko]

Lots of young lads cutting about my village with no interest in working. Girls and bikes more important to them.

I worked 5 months in Bowin on a project. 15 thais and 10 burmese. Give me the burmese anytime when it comes to graft. Aye and for less salary and better english.

[rickirs]

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0.8% unemployment...utter bullshit!

Using the Internet for more than this forum and emails will prevent you from making wrong statements.

Unemployment Rate in Thailand increased to 0.80 percent in September of 2014 from 0.74 percent in August of 2014

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/thailand/unemployment-rate

Thailand's unemployment rate is very low, reported as 0.9% for the first quarter of 2014

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Thailand

0.7% unemployment rate

http://data.worldbank.org/country/thailand

Have you tried to find someone in the service industry who is available for hire? Electrician, plumber, carpenter, tile? They are all busy.

2014-10-12

"The number of jobless for the month of September has increased to 311,000 constituting an increase of 40,000 or 14.76 percent from the same period last year or 24,000 representing an increase of 8.36 percent from August, according to the National Statistical Office."

- Unemployment increase was split almost 50-50 between those who never worked and those who used to work.

- Of those who used to work there was almost 50-50 between the production and service sectors.

- In a breakdown of the total unemployed by education about one-third was those with a bachelor's degree from a university and one-third was those with a lower secondary education.

Any actions taken by the Junta to reverse the increasing unemployment trend since the coup appear ineffective. Clearly, on the heel of a loss of export markets, the domestic economy continues to suffer. Any economic stimulus by the Junta thus far has had little effect on unemployment.

[nong38]

My wife said to me today they ( Thais) all want smartphones and Tv's but no one wants to work to pay for them. Everywhere there are people who appear at work but do nothing, they know nothing and they dont want to learn anything, life is good and life is easy, why would that change?

The standards here for almost anything you can think of is poor and they accept that, if they dont adapt they will not survive.

The ASEAN community will have a pop. roughly the same as the EU who thinks they are going to lead it and who is going to lead it? When they start there will be changes and more will follow, some countries will not understand what they are signing up to until its to late, some countries will have to get their act together very quickly or else, some think they"know" and are already ready, more or less, to clean up.

When the tourists stop coming the natural reaction here is that the ones that still come will have to pay more to make for the ones that did not come ( raising prices at hotels etc) this is contrary to everywhere else I have been, usually the prices are lowered to attract more people. I can see gloomy times ahead and a lot of confused people trying to work out how the Thai plans went wrong. Well it started in the education system and spread from there, the curriclum is rorng, the information is wrong, the teaching is wrong, in fact just about everything is worng with it and no one wants to deal with the problem, the result is that they are not turning out people prepared for the modern world, to work in the modern world at a high standard. Its alright waving your degree but what can you do? result unemployment on an unprecedented scale as business's try to stop bankruptcy!

No one sees what the future might be like because "long term planning" is not a Thai trait, having a business plan which takes into account costs is another mystery to most how they have got this far is a mystery without trouble, its hard to see how they can avoid the problems that lie ahead. The rich will, of course, the poor will be the ones that are hit, thats always the way.

[wabothai]

May be it has something to do with air conditioning. Which young people want to work on the rice fields?

[jollyhangmon]

Oh pa-lease stop with that 'less than 1% unemployment' (obvious) bs already!
Foly huck, on a 1 hour bicycle roundtrip - say some 25 klicks - i regularly meet all 326.616 of them apparently ...!?

So better take that 10 times min & you might be on a path more appropriate ...

[Fred Flinstone]

Well heres hoping things improve for the Thais who are suffering badly-

And things return to better times in years ahead

[chumpy]

Well this is a huge surprise to ----- nobody!

Sorry that the Junta hasn't managed to cure all the problems in Thailand in six months. The country was running like a Swiss watch during the decade that Thaksin led governments were in power. There was no poverty, all Thai people had high paying jobs. The government even helped them accrue debt, with the first car scheme, tablets that didn't work and a master plan of a rice scheme that cost billions. But all was not lost, PTP was not without advice to help the common folk. On August 19 2012, PTP MP Sunai Julphongsathorn told an audience of 1,000 red shirts that they should " find a farang husband for a better life". Most of the businessmen on this forum are happy for the current stability, they may not be ardent supporters of coups but they understand that indiscriminate automatic weapons fire and grenade throwing do not create a prosperous climate for business. Take a short break from your constant criticism of the current regime and appreciate the fact that Thailand is still one country, which it almost wasn't.

I am sure most business men are very happy with the soon to be amended foreign business act which will mean that many of the foreign business owners will be handing over their companies to real Thai shareholders.The coup was great for averting what looked to be a very serious conflict but what the leaders of this country are doing now is setting the stage for a much more serious situation.

[Suffinator]

The fact remains that Thailand still has a very low unemployment rate. Unfortunately with their nationalistic and protectionists policies firmly in place and with the proposed changes in the FBA this is not going to help the situation. Add to that the signing of the AEC agreement which could potentially flood Thailand with migrant workers and the situation will get much worse.

Thailand needs a dramatic change in attitude or face the consequence of a shrinking economy when it should be growing.

[jamiesilver]

im sorry but i find Thais the most disfuntional when it comes to work.
In my office alone they come to work late everyday, take sick days and have all sorts of excuses for not working . They then quit when they get reprimanded.
Its not an unemployement problem Thailand has - Its a problem with thais under employment.
Personally i cant wait until the ASEAN countries swoop in because id love to fill the office up with some normal people with good education and work ethics.

[rametindallas]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

0.8% unemployment...utter bullshit!

Using the Internet for more than this forum and emails will prevent you from making wrong statements.

Unemployment Rate in Thailand increased to 0.80 percent in September of 2014 from 0.74 percent in August of 2014

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/thailand/unemployment-rate

Thailand's unemployment rate is very low, reported as 0.9% for the first quarter of 2014

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Thailand

0.7% unemployment rate

http://data.worldbank.org/country/thailand

Have you tried to find someone in the service industry who is available for hire? Electrician, plumber, carpenter, tile? They are all busy.

2014-10-12

"The number of jobless for the month of September has increased to 311,000 constituting an increase of 40,000 or 14.76 percent from the same period last year or 24,000 representing an increase of 8.36 percent from August, according to the National Statistical Office."

- Unemployment increase was split almost 50-50 between those who never worked and those who used to work.

- Of those who used to work there was almost 50-50 between the production and service sectors.

- In a breakdown of the total unemployed by education about one-third was those with a bachelor's degree from a university and one-third was those with a lower secondary education.

Any actions taken by the Junta to reverse the increasing unemployment trend since the coup appear ineffective. Clearly, on the heel of a loss of export markets, the domestic economy continues to suffer. Any economic stimulus by the Junta thus far has had little effect on unemployment.

Did you not read the story on the forum where Provincial Administrative Organizations have had to raise their minimum wages, a law instituted by PTP, which has caused all other wages to go up to keep up the pay differential between new hires and those with experience, thereby exceeding the annual budgets of PAOs across the country resulting in lay-offs? Many mom and pop businesses will make do with fewer employees because their profit margins will not support higher wage employees. Not every private company has the economy of scale. There is also a loss of jobs from lowered tourism numbers caused by demonstrations and then martial law. Even with all that, there are few countries in the free world who would not be envious of Thailand's unemployment rate. You are grasping at straws trying to find every little bit of negativity with junta rule. There are negatives, indeed, but they are hugely outweighed by the positives. Get over it. The military will keep control of the government until your heroes, the Shinawatra family, are on the ash heap of history. The sooner Dr. Thaksin moves on, the sooner the military will reestablish free elections. You, sir, don't know when you're licked.

Funny you should respond to my non-political post with your political post and get a load of political right back. That must sting.

[maidee]

i smell a crackdown on more farang owned businesses... they are stealing jobs etc ... you know the drill ... crackdown season is upon us

[Mr Somtam]

Just wait til ASEAN kicks in. There will be more Thai unemployment because they will be out-worked. I know two business owners in the service sector who will be closing their businesses the week of Jan 1, going to the Phillipines to hire an entire staff of English-speaking, motivated service employees, and can only see blue skies ahead. Ask any foreign business owner what their primary challenge is and they will tell you, "Having to deal with Thai employees."

In a local Home store yesterday, I observed groups of "employees" of as many as 8-12 per cluster, just milling around, doing nothing, and trying not to work. Of course, Thai businesses could always hire more rotations of people to hand out free tickets to the business parking lots, then collect them as you leave. Or more people to blow whistles in parking lots whilst not knowing the first thing about how to drive or park a car.

It's called competition, and those Thai unemployment numbers will only go higher.

Global House over here has at least 150 staff hanging around doing nothing, a shop like that in the netherlands would have 30 employees maximum... Pay the peanuts - get the monkeys....

[Mr Somtam]

An unemployment rate of 0,84% ?

I feel like I know them all personally.

In my moobaan it is at least 80% - all young males hangin round all day, chicken fights, gin lao, non lap, etc. Etc. The young women work or are looking for work...

[ramrod711]

Well this is a huge surprise to ----- nobody!

Sorry that the Junta hasn't managed to cure all the problems in Thailand in six months. The country was running like a Swiss watch during the decade that Thaksin led governments were in power. There was no poverty, all Thai people had high paying jobs. The government even helped them accrue debt, with the first car scheme, tablets that didn't work and a master plan of a rice scheme that cost billions. But all was not lost, PTP was not without advice to help the common folk. On August 19 2012, PTP MP Sunai Julphongsathorn told an audience of 1,000 red shirts that they should " find a farang husband for a better life". Most of the businessmen on this forum are happy for the current stability, they may not be ardent supporters of coups but they understand that indiscriminate automatic weapons fire and grenade throwing do not create a prosperous climate for business. Take a short break from your constant criticism of the current regime and appreciate the fact that Thailand is still one country, which it almost wasn't.

I am sure most business men are very happy with the soon to be amended foreign business act which will mean that many of the foreign business owners will be handing over their companies to real Thai shareholders.The coup was great for averting what looked to be a very serious conflict but what the leaders of this country are doing now is setting the stage for a much more serious situation.

Why don't we wait until the act becomes a reality, then judge the contents. One thing I have noticed about Prayuth so far, he isn't afraid to say he was wrong or change his mind.

[Alwyn]

Well this is a huge surprise to ----- nobody!

Sorry that the Junta hasn't managed to cure all the problems in Thailand in six months. The country was running like a Swiss watch during the decade that Thaksin led governments were in power. There was no poverty, all Thai people had high paying jobs. The government even helped them accrue debt, with the first car scheme, tablets that didn't work and a master plan of a rice scheme that cost billions. But all was not lost, PTP was not without advice to help the common folk. On August 19 2012, PTP MP Sunai Julphongsathorn told an audience of 1,000 red shirts that they should " find a farang husband for a better life". Most of the businessmen on this forum are happy for the current stability, they may not be ardent supporters of coups but they understand that indiscriminate automatic weapons fire and grenade throwing do not create a prosperous climate for business. Take a short break from your constant criticism of the current regime and appreciate the fact that Thailand is still one country, which it almost wasn't.

Don't know about the Junta not curing all problems; From what I've seen they haven't solve one problem yet. They have caused a bunch of problems though. Not only the international problems with Thailand being under martial law and run by a Junta but how about the the tribes and villages being evicted from their homes in the forests? No problem solved and people who have lived in villages established before the Forest commission was even formed being homeless now while the big resorts continue unhindered. This government is a farce. But that aside did anybody expect employment to rise in these circumstances?