Some roles, particularly in Thailand's recovering tourism and service sectors, are now mostly being filled by migrant workers due to a chronic manpower shortage, a top official from the Employers' Confederation of Thailand (ECOT) has said.
This is occurring amid both a labour shortage and a waning economy, Tanit Sorat, deputy chairman of the ECOT, said on Wednesday in Bangkok.
Many new Thai graduates are opting for freelance jobs, Mr Tanit said while linking this preference to how migrant workers are increasingly being employed in certain sectors.
"Now that many new Thai graduates are tending to choose a slower lifestyle over full-time positions, certain jobs have to rely more on workers from neighbouring countries," he said.
Under such circumstances, it is estimated Thailand is facing a shortage of around 500,000 skilled and unskilled workers, particularly in the tourism and service sectors, he said.
The number of new graduates has also been declining since Thailand started to become an ageing society, Mr Tanit said.
Many of the workers who quit their jobs during the pandemic and returned to their hometowns have also not returned to the labour market, he said.
The subsequent labour shortage comes despite various signs of a global economic slowdown, he said.
Thailand's exports in the first quarter of this year were less than usual due to an economic slowdown in the US, the EU and China, said Mr Tanit who is also the president of V-serve Group, a major logistics provider.
A decline in cargo containers used in the past months of this year was a clear indicator of declining exports, which is forecast to be -1% to 3% this year when compared to that of last year, he said.
"The US economy and that of the EU, which are Thailand's two main export markets, are suffering inflation which continues prompting them to raise interest rates which adversely suppresses the buying power at the global level," he said.
"I am in the logistics business and have observed this sharp decline in demand for cargo containers and freight service. The import of goods and materials is in a similar situation."
The ECOT is closely monitoring policies by political parties about the raising of wages, he said, adding that the confederation expects the promised wage hikes to be implemented around the end of this year.
The ECOT still hopes the new government will understand that any increases in wage rates require the approval of a tripartite wage committee made up of employers, employees and government representatives, Mr Tanit said.
The minimum daily wage rate was adjusted to between 328 and 354 baht on Oct 1, he said.
"Policies promised in election campaigns by most parties tend to miss out on measures to ensure sustainability in promoting the growth of the country's economy in the long run," he said.
"If they keep focusing on spending the budget [to fund their promised policies], it will likely end up with the government having to increase taxes, which won't do Thailand's economy any good," he said.
