Thailand’s unemployment rate in the second quarter of this year has hit the highest level in two years at 1.07%, reports Asia News Network, citing the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC). Danucha Pichayanan, NESDC secretary-general, said that the rate of unemployment in the second quarter had risen to 1.07% from 1.06% in the same period last year. This marks the highest rate since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic, he added.

The NESDC found that the number of employed Thais had dropped by 0.4% to 39.5 million in the second quarter compared to the previous year. This decline was primarily attributed to the 5% drop in jobs in the agricultural industry, though employment outside agriculture had risen by 1.5%.

In the second quarter, NESDC found 430,000 people unemployed. It also found that the ratio of those who had lost their jobs had risen, while the ratio of unemployed new graduates had dropped.

However, Danucha said the NESDC expects the employment situation to improve in the remaining months of the year. As for the drop in jobs in agriculture, he said it was mainly due to drought, prompting farmers to stop planting.