Unemployment is expected to soar this year owing to severe impacts caused by the third wave of Covid-19, warned a government planning unit.

The assessment comes after unemployment in Thailand hit a 12-year high in Q1.

Danucha Pichayanan, secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC), said the third wave of the pandemic is likely to be a prolonged affair and prevent the economy from reaching its goal due to a slowdown in activity, particularly among micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sectors.

"If the outbreak is not quickly contained,” said Mr Danucha, “these businesses may be unable to continue operations, resulting in the permanent termination of employees and delaying recovery."

Mr Danucha said workers in the tourism industry will also be laid off more frequently.

He cited the Tourism Marketing Research Center of TAT which has predicted that tourism will likely return to normal in 2026. The effects of Covid-19 will delay the resumption of normal tourism services and this will affect more than seven million tourism workers. If the workers are laid off, they will be unable to return to work in the same field in the near future and may have to change their careers altogether.

Mr Danucha also warned there may not be enough job openings to accommodate recent graduates. With an economy that is growing at a slower rate than expected, entrepreneurs will postpone hiring new employees and this will affect 490,000 new graduates.

Mr Danucha said workers' quality of life likewise will be affected as their working hours have been reduced for six consecutive quarters.

Those who are unemployed due to Covid-19 are more likely to be unemployed in the long term. Since the outbreak began in 2020, many laid-off formal workers have become informal workers, a group that has not been protected and lacks social security.