Thailand’s unemployment rises as new graduates struggle

The majority of unemployed individuals in the fourth quarter of 2024 were new graduates aged 20-24, the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) reported on Monday.

According to the council, 360,000 people were unemployed in the final quarter of 2024, marking an 8.8% increase year-on-year. The unemployment rate rose to 0.88%, up from 0.81% in 2023.

“The largest group of unemployed consists of recent graduates aged 20-24, including both those with prior work experience and those entering the workforce for the first time,” NESDC said.

The report also highlighted that many experienced workers who became unemployed had previously been employed in the manufacturing and wholesale/retail sectors.

Despite the rise in unemployment, the overall employment rate in 2024 remained steady at 98.6%. However, the total number of employed individuals declined slightly to 39.8 million, a 0.3% drop from 2023.

(2025/03/10-00:00)