After a pandemic-fueled unemployment freefall over the last year, costing 3 million people their jobs, the first quarter saw a big jump in employment demand for Thailand. Most job listings on internet search platforms are for positions in the Sales and Customer Service fields, followed by positions in the Information Technology field.
Employment demand rose nearly 25% from the lowest periods in 2020, which were during the two Covid-19 outbreaks, and the rise in employment demand is a “great sign of recovery in the Thai labour market.”
Listings on internet job listing platforms in April 2020 fell from January 2020 figures 35.6%, while the second coronavirus outbreak in December led to an even bigger drop of 45.5% from January, down 37.9% from numbers in August 2020.
The first quarter in 2021 showed a strong upward trend though, particularly with people in the IT field. Barring another wave of Covid-19, employment levels are looking likely to recover by 2022 to levels before the pandemic decimated the economy which may see a prediction of 5% year-on-year growth for Thailand’s job market.
While Sales, Business Development and Customer Service saw the biggest increase in new job listings in Thailand in the first quarter of 2021, IT and Engineering has shown significant growth and is a hot market for new Thai employment. Last year Marketing and Public Relations, Transport and Logistics, and Manufacturing had the highest demand growth. But IT just saw a 10% growth in jobs to fill, and the Thai labour market needs skilled workers for emerging digital technologies.
Thai people need to brush up on their IT skills and Thailand needs to attract skilled foreign workers as well. A shortage of skilled workers exists as new jobs are created in Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Crypto Tech, Data Protection, and Machine Learning.
Starting salaries of 20,000 to 40,000 baht a month should attract job hunters to the IT field. Contractors or Temporary workers face salaries lower than 16,000 baht a month. Aside from IT, specifically skilled jobs like Legal Officers and Business Analysts pay similar wages, as well as jobs in the Telecom field.
While Singapore ranks number 1 as the country most sought by foreigners working abroad, Thailand has climbed from 39th in 2018 to 35th last year.
Source: The Thai Tiger
