Around 10 million people will be out of job if the coronavirus outbreak is not contain within the next 3 months, said representatives from the private sector.
“Businesses estimated that around 7 million people are out of jobs right now but if the coronavirus situation is prolonged for another 2-3 months, there will be 10 million people who will be unemployed,” said Kalin Sarasin, chairman of Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC).
Kalin made the remarks following a meeting between 5 private institutions and the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) on Monday.
As of January 2019, Thailand’s labor force stood at 38.2 people. Of that, 37.50 million were employed, 390,000 were unemployed and 310,000 were seasonally inactive labor force.
Apart for the unemployment estimation, the meeting also set up 5 task forces that will investigate measures to support the economy.
The first task force will be led by the Thai Bankers’ Association and will look for ways for businesses that cannot gain access to bailout soft-loans to gain some liquidity.
The second and third task forces will be led by the TCC to come up with a list of businesses that could be reopen. The TCC is also tasked to open up more channels to sell agricultural products amid the contraction in exports.
The fourth task force will be led by the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) to find more measures to support SMEs that are worth less than 10 million baht. The last working group will concentrate on digital solutions which will be led by the Digital Council of Thailand.
Among many recommendations suggested on Monday, was for the government to allow for hourly employment. This should be done to avoid more people being let go from their job with a minimum wage of 325 baht per day at 40-41 baht per hour and no less than four hours of employment and no more than eight hours per day.
For temporary closures, Kalin said business that should be allowed to resume activity include department stores and beauty parlors but they will have to discuss it with doctors and the government’s coronavirus response center.
He also asked for tax measures to allow businesses to use their losses to reduce tax payment for the next 7 years.
