The country's latest employment rate should give the government and public a sense of relief. However it is also breeding concern about whether the data is being cherry-picked to project an overly positive image of the state of the economy.
The figures prepared by the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) that were unveiled on May 23 show the jobless rate dropped for the first time since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, the employment rate in the agricultural and some other sectors has started to pick up.
The unemployment rate dropped to 1.53% in the first quarter of this year, down from 1.64% in the fourth quarter of 2021. This is a significant improvement compared to the grim figure of 2.25% for the third quarter of 2021 when Covid cases peaked and business conditions hit rock bottom.
The latest jobless rate is the lowest since the 1.03% recorded in the first quarter of 2020, just before the economy was battered by the virus.
While the government has hailed the figures as a sign of healthy recovery, critics in the business sector have questioned how the data was curated.
Interestingly, the NESDC reportedly made its assessment based on a survey conducted by the National Statistical Office under the Digital Economy and Society Ministry.
Tanit Sorat, vice-chairman of the Employers' Confederation of Thai Trade and Industry (EconThai), posed a legitimate question about why the authority did not include data compiled by the Social Security Office under the Labour Ministry, which was more likely to show the real situation of workers, especially those who fall under Section 33 of the Social Security Act.
Notably, the National Statistical Office includes people who work less than one hour a day as well as anyone who receives below the daily minimum wage in its calculation, which critics say can result in misleading employment figures.
Despite the apparent economic uptick we are now seeing, however, the figures from the Social Security Office paint a different picture.
Up to 400,000 workers who are eligible for welfare benefits under Section 33 have lost their jobs since the first wave of Covid-19 struck in 2020, and the situation has not significantly improved since.
Moreover, the unemployment rate for new graduates has not improved while jobs in the tourism and service sectors have also not fully recovered.
The relevant authorities -- particularly the NESDC, a think-tank -- should listen to critics and make the appropriate adjustments to ensure their economic projections are both relevant and realistic.
National employment reports are important data. Apart of being a mirror of the country's economic health, policy makers and legislators rely on them to craft policy and develop human resources and labour.
The effects of the pandemic are still widely felt. Instead of cherry-picking data and jumping to misleading conclusions, the government and the NESDC must look into problematic areas and seek solutions, for example upskilling workers or finding measures to help new graduates land jobs.
That being said, they must be strict in terms of only using relevant and conclusive data on which to base their economic projections. Selectively choosing the data that suits them will only sow seeds of doubt among the public, while giving policy makers a false sense of security.
