Thailand's unemployment rate in the fourth quarter fell to its lowest level since the pandemic as restrictions eased, reports Today Online citing data from the state planning agency.

The jobs situation is expected to improve further with restrictions easing and more foreign tourists returning. Thailand's official unemployment rate dropped to 1.64% in the December quarter, representing 630,000 jobless workers, from 2.25% in the previous quarter, the agency said in a statement.

That was the lowest since 1.03% recorded in the first quarter of 2020 before the economy felt the full impacts of the pandemic.

The impact of the Omicron variant, which has seen record high cases in recent days, has not been significant, allowing economic activity in the Southeast Asian country to continue, the agency said.

Employment dipped 1% in the December quarter from a year earlier but rose 0.2% in the whole of 2021, with 37.8 million people employed, helped by more jobs in the farm sector, the agency said.