More than 400,000 people, or about 1% of the working-age population, were unemployed during the first quarter of this year, with quitting being the top reason for their unemployment.
National Statistical Office (NSO) director-general Piyanuch Wuttisornon issued the results of a survey on the working-age population which showed a drop in the number of unemployed in the first quarter this year compared with the same period last year.
The survey found some 410,000 people unemployed in the first quarter of this year, accounting for 1% of the workforce.
While the number of people who had been unemployed for over a year stood at 79,000, it was down 4.9% on the previous year. The survey found that university graduates made up the majority of those unemployed.
With regard to reasons for being unemployed, the survey found 59.25% of those out of work had said they had quit their jobs.
Another 16.16% said they had closed their businesses, 13.15% said their employment contracts had terminated, 5.47% said they had been sacked, while 4.71% said they were jobless because of other reasons.
According to the survey, there were 40.2 million people of working age in this year's first quarter, and 39.6 million of them had a job. The number was slightly down from the same period last year.
The decrease stemmed mainly from people not working in the agricultural sector, which was partially due to climate issues such as more severe droughts.
Meanwhile, the number of people working outside the agriculture sector rose by 2.2% over the same time frame, with workers in the hotel and food industries increasing by 10.3%.