The unemployment rate in Thailand fell to 1.89% in the second quarter of 2021 from 1.95% in the second quarter of 2020, according to research from the National Economic and Social Development Council.

The government announced measures to control the Covid-19 outbreak in April 2021 in response to the outbreak. As a result, economic activity has declined and is likely to decline further than it did in 2020, affecting employment and income, particularly among those unable to work from home, the Council stated.

Employment increased by 2.0% in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the same period last year. This was resulted from a 2.4% increase in agricultural employment as a result of the movement of unemployed and laid-off workers, as well as attractive agricultural product prices.

Employment in non-agricultural sectors increased by 1.8%. Construction, hotel/restaurant, and transportation/storage sectors had the greatest increases in employment among other sectors, by 5.1, 5.4, and 7.1%, respectively. Employment in the wholesale and retail sectors, on the other hand, fell by 2.2 and 1.4%, respectively.

“The labour situation slightly improved,” the Council stated. “However, it is still severely impacted when compared to the pre-pandemic levels.”