BANGKOK, July 23 (TNA) – Over 3.3 million workers in
Thailand have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, says the Federation of
Thai Industries (FTI).
FTI Chairman Supant Mongkholsuthree said on Thursday that as
much as 3.3 million of the Thai workforce could lose jobs or income from the
coronavirus pandemic.
Of the current 37.3 million in the workforce, 47 percent in
the service sector and 23 percent in the industry sector were hardest hit by
the pandemic, he said.
Employees of businesses related to tourism and services were
at risk of losing their jobs, said Supant.
Thailand’s economy is expected to shrink by at least 5
percent in 2020 and taking more than two years to return to pre-COVID-19 GDP
output levels, according to a World Bank report released earlier this month.
The FTI has recommended additional measures aimed at
improving liquidity of businesses and increasing financial assistance to
employees.
FTI Vice Chairman Suchart Chantaranakarat said a key
challenge was wage-subsidies for individuals in the most vulnerable sectors.
(TNA)
