Thai unemployment seen to reach 1.7m

Associated Press, Bangkok

About 400,000 more people are expected to become jobless in Thailand because of a global economic downturn in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a government study says.

The number of unemployed is expected to rise to 1.7 million in 2002 from 1.3 million this year, said the study by the Labor and Social Welfare Ministry obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

Thailand's population is about 61 million with a work force of 33 million.

The industrial and service sectors, including banking and tourism and related businesses, are expected to be hardest hit. The projected unemployed number includes 200,000 new graduates entering the job market, the study said.

In the first half of this year, at least 63,000 people, mostly in the industrial and service sectors, were laid off, according to the ministry's statistics.

But an official in the ministry's Social Security Department, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the true figure might be double that total because employers often do not report layoffs until months after the fact.

In a related development, the union for flag carrier Thai Airways International said the airline is planning to reduce its 25,000-strong work force.

Union president Jaemsri Sukchoterat said the group was informed that Thai Airways would lay off employees, as it has the same problems as other airlines worldwide. Airlines are facing sharply reduced revenues as the terrorist attacks and the threat of war in Afghanistan have made many people wary of flying.

She said the first batch of about 100 employees is expected to be laid off in the last quarter of the year.

"The golden handshake will be welcomed by several employees," she said, referring to payments for termination of employment.