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Labour Minister Launches Project to Maintain Employment in SMEs and Revive the Economy Supporting the Policy to Reopen the Country

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          On October 15, 2021, Labour Minister Mr. Suchart Chomklin reported that the COVID-19 situation had affected the tourism and service sectors. Meanwhile, the country’s export sector has been able to move forward through various measures by the government and the Ministry of Labour, maintaining employment levels to support the economy to continue to drive forward.n Although many social trends are concerned that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will cause many people to lose their jobs when looking at the unemployment situation from the Ministry of Labour’s database, the data does not indicate that the unemployment situation is as problematic as one might think. Especially when looking at the Social Security Office’s data from January to September 2021, only 665,129 insured persons claimed unemployment benefits. Meanwhile, there were 778,125 insured persons entering the social security system, showing that 112,996 more people entered the social security system than existing. The numbers are consistent with the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare’s unemployment alarm indicators. Comparing 2021 and 2020, it was found that in August 2021, only 326 establishments applied for Section 75 for 90,653 employees. This was the highest month of 2021. In September this year, only 176 establishments applied for Section 75 for 37,619 employees. This was different from April 2020, which had 2,555 establishments using Section 75 for 477,075 people. The unemployment situation is not as problematic as people may think, with the government’s remedial measures that have helped maintain the employment level for the business sector to continue to run.

          Mr. Suchart continued that the government, by the Ministry of Labour, has launched several measures to promote employment. Efforts include projects to promote and maintain employment levels in SMEs, under the scheme where employers are required to maintain an employment level of at least 95 percent during participation in the program (if it is lower, establishments will not receive a subsidy for that month.) If employment increases from the amount of employment as of the project start date, the subsidy will be based on the actual amount of employment. The project was targeted for implementation in 394,621 establishments, covering 4,034,590 employees of Thai nationality. The Ministry of Labour will present the project to the Cabinet for approval on Tuesday.

          “Projects to promote and maintain employment levels in SMEs will help employers, small business operators, and employees benefit from government employment stabilization measures. The Ministry of Labour will revive the economy and society from the impact of COVID-19, including preparing for the 120-day opening of the country following the government’s policy,” concluded Mr. Suchart.

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Division of Public Relations
15 October 2021

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