BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thailand’s employment in the second quarter rose 1.7% from a year earlier, slowing from a 2.4% increase in the previous three months, the state planning agency said on Monday, as economic growth slowed.
Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy grew 1.8% in the April-June period year-on-year and 0.2% quarter-on-quarter, slowing sharply from the first quarter as weaker exports and investment undercut tourism strength.
Thailand’s jobless rate was at 1.06% in the April-June period versus 1.05% in January-March, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) said in a statement.
The jobs growth was mainly in the tourism and construction sectors, it said.
Thailand’s definition of unemployment is narrow, however, and only counts as jobless those who do not work a single hour in a surveyed week.
Analysts say the figures do not catch Thailand’s significant unofficial economy.
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In the second quarter of 2023, Thailand had a workforce of 39.7 million, the planning agency said.
(Reporting by Orathai Sriring, Kitiphong Thaichareon and Stawasin Sta[censored]charnchai; Editing by Martin Petty)