Open Development Thailand | Sharing information about Thailand and its development with the world.

COVID-19 Impact on Thai Labor Market

Unemployment is a looming concern. According to NSO’s data, the unemployment rate has increased to 2 percent in Q2 of 2020. This is more than three times Thailand’s jobless rate for the last decade, which hovered around 0.6%. The Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) estimated that 8.4 million jobs would be at risk from the COVID-19 outbreak in Q2 and Q3 of 2020, in addition to the six million farmers already impacted by drought. Thailand’s key sectors have been especially hit.

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Image: Motorbike taxi in Thailand by ibeeckmans | CC Search under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

Dashboard: COVID-19 and Thai Labor Market

Some major findings from Labor Force Survey data of Thailand National Statistics Office (NSO) showed that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted on jobs.

During the Q1 and Q2 of 2020, the virus impact was accelerating around the world. With the country put under lockdown from mid-March till June 2020, the COVID-19 impact on workers showed a significant change in the Q2.

View the full dashboard >>

Data Literacy Training

Thailand’s civil society representatives completed East-West Management Institute’s (EWMI) data literacy training program from February to June 2020. This training in Thailand was tailored for participants from the forestry sector to advocate for improved forest governance. They included representatives from Baan Non Toom Thaworn Community Forest, Self-organized Land Reform Network, Citizen Forest Network, Chiang Mai Community Organisation Council, Raks Thai Foundation, RECOFTC Thailand, and Western Community Radio Network.

All participants were sponsored by the Voices for Mekong Forests (V4MF) project, a five-year initiative funded by the EU. Read the full story.

Participants were very supportive of each other during the training. (This photo was taken during the first phase in February 2020.)

Pandemics / COVID-19

Thailand was the first country outside of China to have confirmed a patient with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infection on 13 January 2020. On March 1, 2020, Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) designated COVID-19 as a dangerous communicable disease under the Communicable Diseases Act B.E. 2558 (2015). An emergency in all areas of the Kingdom of Thailand was declared by the Thai Prime Minister on March 20, 2020, pursuant to the Emergency Decree on Public Administration in emergency situations. The emergency period was originally to last until April 30, 2020, until further announcement of relax measures.

Forest Policy and Admistration

Thailand’s forests are governed under a system of laws and policies that has evolved over the past few decades to place a greater emphasis on conservation and sustainable management. Though challenges of implementation, participation, and community usage rights persist, governance can be considered a positive factor in Thai forest health.

Forests and Forestry

In 2018, forest products accounted for roughly 118 billion Thai Baht (3.9 billion USD) in exports—or about 1.2% of all exported goods and services. That figure does not include either the value of domestic consumption of forest products or the ecosystem services forests provide.

Call for national researchers - Global Data Barometer

Open Data for Development Asia Hub (D4DAsia) is currently seeking independent, country-level researchers in Asia. Please see this post for more information.

https://thailand.opendevelopmentmekong.net/topics/sustainable-development-goals/

Savings Fund membership push proposed

5 March 2021

The Finance Ministry is mulling additional incentives to increase the number of members in the National Savings Fund (NSF) as Thailand is projected to become a “super ageing society” by 2031.Increasing state contributions to the NSF and extending the maximum membership age to 65 years ...

 Wichit Chantanusornsiri

Thailand to launch ‘area quarantine' for foreign tourists next month

4 March 2021

The government on Thursday unveiled its “area quarantine” plan to open Thailand to foreign tourists from next month.Area quarantine will be piloted in five provinces popular with foreign tourists – Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, Surat Thani (Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan) and Chon Buri (Pattaya).Tourism and ...

 The Nation Reporter

Environmental reviews for Chana estate

4 March 2021

The government vows to move ahead with the much-criticised Chana Industrial Estate in Songkhla, though it is requiring responsible agencies to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA), environmental health impact assessment (EHIA) as well as public hearings.Speaking after chairing a meeting with related agencies including ...

 Bangkok Post Reporter

Public Health Ministry to start building national immunity with 63 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine

4 March 2021

The Ministry of Public Health revealed that Thailand has ordered 63 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to start building national immunity and more doses can be added. The procurement process has been done in a transparent, cost-effective, and verifiable manner. The vaccinations are planned ...

Finance Ministry Seeks More Fund for Co-payment Scheme

4 March 2021

The Finance Ministry is preparing to seek the Cabinet’s approval for additional funding for the Rao Chana (We Win) scheme following the better than expected number of registrants.Fiscal Policy Office (FPO) Director-General Kulaya Tantitemit said the number of registrants exceeded the target of 31 million ...

 NNT Reporter

Growing cooperation between Hanoi and Bangkok on South China Sea

4 March 2021

Faced with the Chinese naval exercises that will continue throughout the month of March, the foreign ministries of Vietnam and Thailand are seeking compliance with UN conventions on maritime law. And they hope that ASEAN will be strengthened, while commercial relations between the two countries ...

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Talk | Open Data for Democracy

2 March 2021

“Do we really have the right to know state information?”“What will happen? If the government discloses information in a transparent and verifiable manner “Join us for answers at the Talk of the Year event “Open the state information to the public. For Democracy (Open Data ...

Thailand’s Data-Driven Storytelling Contest

26 February 2021

The purpose of this contest is to encourage professionals, researchers, and students, especially those who identify as Indigenous Peoples, to demonstrate the value of data through effective visual data storytelling, and to contribute to the open data community by increasing the accessibility of information on ...

Online Seminar | Prepare and count down for PDPA

19 February 2021

The online seminar on “Prepare and count down for PDPA” that are various topics as follows:The Essential Keys of PDPA in ThailandIntroduction to Legal TechThe Journey of PDPA compliance with Expert SharingIntroduction to GECThailand Personal Data Protection Act ToolRegister to attend the seminar via Zoom ...

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Open Development Thailand publishes a dashboard on “Essential Information on COVID-19 in Thailand."

16 December 2020

Open Development Thailand (ODT) recently published a dashboard on “Essential Information on COVID-19 in Thailand,” which collects useful information on the nationwide measures, capacity of health services and medical workforces, hotline contact, educational videos, and infection cases over time. Access to the page>> ...

Open Development Thailand publishes new pages on COVID-19 Impact on Thai Labor Market and its Dashboard

12 October 2020

Open Development Thailand (ODT) recently published a new topic page on “COVID-19 Impact on Thai Labour Market,” which shows that the lockdown measure and other COVID-19 measures significantly affected jobs and workers in Q2/2020. The data dashboard will provide you insights to understand vulnerable informal ...

Open Development Thailand publishes a new topic page on "COVID-19 in Thailand"

21 May 2020

Open Development Thailand (ODT) recently published a new topic page on “COVID-19 in Thailand,” which shows the impacts from and measures of the COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand. Like other countries, the COVID-19 has economic, social and environmental impacts. You will learn the key measures implemented ...

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