End-year job cuts yet to hit home: govt

Minister warns on company pressures

The unemployment rate remains steady at 1% of the workforce, with most workers leaving jobs on a voluntary basis, according to the Ministry of Labour.

Apinya Sujarittanan, chief of the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare, said the unemployment rate is nothing to worry about.

“There has been no significant change in the labour market despite reports of business shutdowns and growing concerns over the impact of economic uncertainties,” he said.

The number of unemployed was 34,000 less in the second quarter than in the same period last year, he said, citing figures from the National Statistical Office.

At present, only 377,000 people are unemployed, around 1% of the workforce of 38.4 million.

According to the Social Security Office, 139,731 people voluntarily resigned from their companies, while only 25,802 were laid off.

The office has also found an increase in the number of members of the Social Security Fund.

“This shows there’s an increase in employment,” Mr Apinya added.

Nevertheless, MR Chatu Mongol Sonakul, the labour minister, told officials to keep a close watch on unemployment, especially during the last three months of this year.

That is because the fourth quarter is known as a period with high employment-related disputes, as workers demand bonuses and request contract adjustments.

“So, it is a duty of the Ministry of Labour to promote good relations between management and employees to prevent any problems, Mr Apinya said.

“If entrepreneurs need to close companies, their workers — both Thais and foreigners — will get the right to receive compensation,” he said.

Among the latest cases is the shutdown of High Trend Industries, a luggage-making factory in Chon Buri, which laid off more than 1,000 workers in early October. Most came from Myanmar and Cambodia.

Authorities have told the company to comply with labour protection laws by paying a total of 43 million baht in compensation to workers, Chon Buri labour official Somphop Malikaeo said.

The Department of Labour Protection and Welfare has also helped 300 migrant workers get new jobs as their work permits have not expired, he said.