Post-flood: Unemployment double whammy?

Govt paid companies to not layoff workers during floods but this ends in April exactly when minimum wage jumps to 300 baht.

Read previous article about post-flood unemployment here.

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ECONOMY

NESDB sounds alarm on unemployment

Deadline to retain workers ends in March
28/02/2012
Chatrudee Theparat

Unemployment may rise in the first half of this year due to the floods and higher wages, the National Economic and Social Development Board warned yesterday.

Labour Ministry data on Feb 20 showed 45,000 workers had been laid off at 122 closed factories. Also 284 factories with 164,552 employees have yet to restart operations.

Since the latter group of factories is given government incentives to keep their workers, the number of flood-related layoffs might be distorted.

Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, NESDB's secretary-general, said clearer unemployment data will be known in April because the deadline to retain workers ends at the end of March.

In the fourth quarter, workers asking for compensation from the Social Security Fund due to unemployment numbered 140,295, up 9.53% from 128,085 in the third quarter and up 27.5% from 109,991 in the same quarter of 2010. The fund was instructed to prepare unemployment compensation for up to 300,000 workers, higher than an earlier projection of 200,000.

He said the rise in the daily minimum wage to 300 baht in seven provinces in April may cause some small and medium-sized enterprises to close down. Some companies in flooded areas may use this as a reason to close their factories or not pay wages.

Some businesses may invest in machinery to reduce workers while factories could relocate to areas with cheaper labour costs.

Industries at risk of layoffs include automotive, electronics, textiles, clothing, machinery, electrical appliances, plastic pellets, rubber and chemicals.

The NESDB study showed 5.1 to 5.6 million workers nationwide have minimum wages below 300 baht a day. Entrepreneurs are projected to spend 6.7 to 11.1 billion baht on payroll each month, a rise of 6.2% to 10.2%, to meet the new rate.

Mr Arkhom said the government needs to monitor the quality of life of labourers following the flood while organising training programmes to increase productivity, especially as Asean is slated to become a single market in 2015 with free flow of skilled labour in some sectors.

In the fourth quarter last year, unemployment was 0.6% or 245,890 people - quite low considering the GDP contracted by 9% from the previous year. The government and entrepreneurs adopted a policy for businesses to retain workers after the flood.

The 38.9-million Thai workforce worked less than 35 hours a week, up 5.3% from the third quarter.

Employed workers who did no actual work numbered 780,584 in the fourth quarter, up 19.6% from the previous quarter. They still count as employed under the standards of the International Labour Organisation, but are at risk of becoming unemployed.

Farmers totalled 191,090 last quarter, up 74% from the third quarter, because some farmland was destroyed by floods and needed to be reworked in what is typically a slow period. Again, the ILO does not consider these workers unemployed.

Mr Arkhom qualified some employment in the fourth quarter as unproductive considering how the working hours impacted employees' income and quality of life.

As of Feb 24, entrepreneurs participating in the worker-retention programme totalled 1,816 with 334,149 workers, though some workers do not earn overtime.

(Source: Bangkok Post, ECONOMY, NESDB sounds alarm on unemployment, Deadline to retain workers ends in March, 28/02/2012, Chatrudee Theparat, link) 

Unemployment Vocabulary

National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) - the government agency that makes long-term plans for Thailand's economic development, a 5-year plan (See Wikipedia)

wham - the sound of hitting something hard (See Urban Dictionary)
double whammy - a double blow or setback (See phrases.org.uk)

employee (noun) - a worker who works for a company 
employer (noun) - the company that hires and pays a worker; gives the worker a job
employment (noun) - having a paid job
employ (verb) - give a job to a worker
employed (adjective) - when a worker has a job
unemployed (adjective) - when a worker does not have a job
unemployment - the number of people without a job (and are looking for a job) การว่างงาน การตกงาน (See Wikipedia)

alarm - to cause worry or fear that something unpleasant or dangerous might happen or is happening ทำให้กลัว
sound alarm - tells the public there is some danger (that they should worry about something)

NESDB sounds alarm on unemployment

deadline - a time or day by which something must be done เส้นตาย
retain - to keep รักษา
retain workers -  keep staff, keep employees (not lay off, continue giving them a job) 
worker retention programme

Deadline to retain workers ends in March.

wages - the amount of money earned per hour by a worker
layoffs (noun) - job cuts, people who lose their job because business is bad and there is no work for them  (example: company loses orders and layoffs preoduction workers) การปลดคนงาน การเลิกจ้าง
laid off (verb)  
data - facts or information used for making calculations or decisions ข้อมูล
incentives - giving a reward for acting in a certain way สิ่งกระตุ้น  รางวัล ผลตอบแทน

Unemployment may rise in the first half of this year due to the floods and higher wages, the National Economic and Social Development Board warned yesterday. Labour Ministry data on Feb 20 showed 45,000 workers had been laid off at 122 closed factories. Also 284 factories with 164,552 employees have yet to restart operations. Since the latter group of factories is given government incentives to keep their workers, the number of flood-related layoffs might be distorted. Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, NESDB's secretary-general, said clearer unemployment data will be known in April because the deadline to retain workers ends at the end of March.

fourth quarter - the last three months of the calendar used by a company, organization or the government for budgeting and reporting spending and financial performance 
compensation - money that someone receives because something bad has happened to them เงินชดเชย
fund - money provided for some purpose or project เงินทุน กองทุน
projection - guessing a future amount; a calculation or guess about the future based on information that you have การคาดคะเน

In the fourth quarter, workers asking for compensation from the Social Security Fund due to unemployment numbered 140,295, up 9.53% from 128,085 in the third quarter and up 27.5% from 109,991 in the same quarter of 2010. The fund was instructed to prepare unemployment compensation for up to 300,000 workers, higher than an earlier projection of 200,000.

wage - an amount of money that you earn for working, usually according to how many hours or days you work each week or month ค่าจ้าง
daily minimum wage - the smallest amount of money that can be paid to a worker for one day's work
enterprises - companies
reason - an explanation of an event, why an event happened เหตุ ; เหตุผล ; สาเหตุ
relocate - move to another location ย้ายไปตั้งอีกที่หนึ่ง
risk - danger, how likely or possible it is for a bad event that causes harm and damage ความเสี่ยง
at risk - in a dangerous situation
industries at risk of layoffs - industries in which there is the danger of workers losing their job in the future
textiles - cloth; fabric made by weaving or knitting (See Wikipedia)

He said the rise in the daily minimum wage to 300 baht in seven provinces in April may cause some small and medium-sized enterprises to close down. Some companies in flooded areas may use this as a reason to close their factories or not pay wages. Some businesses may invest in machinery to reduce workers while factories could relocate to areas with cheaper labour costs. Industries at risk of layoffs include automotive, electronics, textiles, clothing, machinery, electrical appliances, plastic pellets, rubber and chemicals.

nationwide - including the whole country ทั่วประเทศ
projected - expected, forecast; what people believe it will in the future
payroll - the list of people to be paid for their work
rate - wage rate
wage rate - the amount of money given to a worker per hour or per day

The NESDB study showed 5.1 to 5.6 million workers nationwide have minimum wages below 300 baht a day. Entrepreneurs are projected to spend 6.7 to 11.1 billion baht on payroll each month, a rise of 6.2% to 10.2%, to meet the new rate.

quality of life - the general happiness or emotional well-being of individuals and societies, which may be different than GDP measured with income and money, may be affected by such things as disease, divorce, loneliness, crowded living areas and traffic jams (See Wikipedia)
monitor - to regularly check something or watch someone in order to find out what is happening ตรวจสอบ ตรวจตรา เฝ้าจับตาดู เฝ้าดู จับตาดู ตรวจ, ติดตาม, เฝ้าสังเกต
monitor quality of life  

training - to teach people how to do an activity or job การฝึกฝน
training programmes

productivity - producing more with the same amount of inputs (labour, energy, etc) การผลิตสินค้า
productive (adjective)
unproductive (adjective)

slated to - planned to become or planning to do 
ASEAN slated to become a single market in 2015

Mr Arkhom said the government needs to monitor the quality of life of labourers following the flood while organising training programmes to increase productivity, especially as Asean is slated to become a single market in 2015 with free flow of skilled labour in some sectors.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) - the total value of all the goods and services produced by a country in one year (See Wikipedia) 
contracted - became smaller, shrunk
GDP contracted by 9%
entrepreneurs - business people เจ้าของกิจการ
policy - a plan of action to guide decisions and achieve outcomes (See Wikipedia) นโยบาย
workforce - all the workers in an economy or a company  แรงงาน

In the fourth quarter last year, unemployment was 0.6% or 245,890 people - quite low considering the GDP contracted by 9% from the previous year. The government and entrepreneurs adopted a policy for businesses to retain workers after the flood. The 38.9-million Thai workforce worked less than 35 hours a week, up 5.3% from the third quarter.

International Labour Organization (ILO) - the UN agency that deals with labour issues and international labour standards (See Wikipedia)
labour - work; especially physical work

actual - real; existing in fact จริง
employed workers who did no actual work

count as - be included in a certain group, be described as belonging to a certain group
they still count as employed - worker is included in the group of employed people (not the unemployed)

standards - an acceptable level of quality or achievement มาตรฐาน
unemployed - people who have lost their job and are actively looking for a new job (See Wikipedia)

Employed workers who did no actual work numbered 780,584 in the fourth quarter, up 19.6% from the previous quarter. They still count as employed under the standards of the International Labour Organisation, but are at risk of becoming unemployed.

typically - usually; normally อย่างเป็นแบบฉบับ

Farmers totalled 191,090 last quarter, up 74% from the third quarter, because some farmland was destroyed by floods and needed to be reworked in what is typically a slow period. Again, the ILO does not consider these workers unemployed.

income - money that people receive from work or some other source, used for household consumption and savings
overtime - extra hours worked beyond normal hours (with extra pay)

Mr Arkhom qualified some employment in the fourth quarter as unproductive considering how the working hours impacted employees' income and quality of life. As of Feb 24, entrepreneurs participating in the worker-retention programme totalled 1,816 with 334,149 workers, though some workers do not earn overtime.