Future labour shortages
in Thailand?
Greying population and
ASEAN labour mobility
By Jon Fernquest
It
won't be long before ASEAN has one unified workforce and labour market if things go
according to plan.
Thais with skills that are in demand worldwide will be able to work in Singapore and earn more money than they could in Thailand. Filipinos will be able to employ their English language skills in Thailand as they currently do as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) working around the world (Read article).
Decades of a successful birth control policy in Thailand also means that there will likely be a greying of the population in Thailand in the future (Read article).
These and other factors are likely to result in an overall future labour shortage in Thailand.
Finally, the Thai textile industry has always claimed there is already a labour shortage in their own industry, a labour shortage corrected by either importing large amounts of migrant labour or building factories in neighbouring countries with lower wages (Read previous article).
One way or another, ASEAN people will not want to go and work in each other's countries if they do not have the same legal protections as they do in their own country.
Rule of law for all, no matter which country you come from, is obviously the big challenge that lies ahead for ASEAN labour.
Today's article begins after the vocabulary:
greying population - when
a whole population of a country or a region grows older
mobility - able to move between places easily
labour mobility - able to move to new places and get work easily
unified - joined together and formed into one whole
workforce - all the workers in a country or a company
go according to plan - follow and do the the things in the plan successfully ตามแผน
in demand - many people need or desire it
Filipinos - people from the country of the Philippines
employ - use
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) - Phillipino workers working in foreign countries (SeeWikipedia)
birth control - "actions, devices, sexual practices, or medications followed in order to deliberately prevent or reduce the likelihood of pregnancy or childbirth" (See Wikipedia)
policy - set of ideas and plans used for making decisions in politics and business นโยบาย
migrant labour - workers that leave their own country (or region within the country) to find better work opportunities in other places
challenge - something difficult to do, a goal difficult to achieve
lies ahead - will happen in the future
mobility - able to move between places easily
labour mobility - able to move to new places and get work easily
unified - joined together and formed into one whole
workforce - all the workers in a country or a company
go according to plan - follow and do the the things in the plan successfully ตามแผน
in demand - many people need or desire it
Filipinos - people from the country of the Philippines
employ - use
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) - Phillipino workers working in foreign countries (SeeWikipedia)
birth control - "actions, devices, sexual practices, or medications followed in order to deliberately prevent or reduce the likelihood of pregnancy or childbirth" (See Wikipedia)
policy - set of ideas and plans used for making decisions in politics and business นโยบาย
migrant labour - workers that leave their own country (or region within the country) to find better work opportunities in other places
challenge - something difficult to do, a goal difficult to achieve
lies ahead - will happen in the future
Labour shortage looming
3/03/2010Chatrudee Theparat
Thailand is expected to encounter a labour shortage over the next five years because of demographics rapidly shifting to an aging society, according to the government's planning agency.
The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) also warned that the country is at risk of a brain drain of highly skilled workers, especially once workers are allowed to freely move around the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) over the next four years.
shortage
- when there is not enough of something การขาดแคลน
looming - seeming likely to happen soon ที่เห็นลางๆ
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
encounter - meet a situation, have a situation happen
aging society - when a whole population of a country or a region grows older (same as "greying of the population" above)
encounter - to meet; to experience or deal with something, especially a problem บประสบการณ์ (ปัญหา)
National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB or "Sa-pa-pat") - Thai government planning agency for economic development, creates five year plans with an agenda of: 1. Alleviation of Poverty and Income Distribution problems, 2. Enhancing Thailand’s Competitiveness, 3. Promoting Social Capital Development, 4. Promoting Sustainable Development (See Wikipedia)
risk - the possibility that something dangerous or unpleasant might happen ความเสี่ยง
brain drain - when highly educated and skilled people move away from a place to seek higher incomes and better opporunities (See Wikipedia)
looming - seeming likely to happen soon ที่เห็นลางๆ
expected - believe will happen คาดว่า (จะเกิดขึ้น)
encounter - meet a situation, have a situation happen
aging society - when a whole population of a country or a region grows older (same as "greying of the population" above)
encounter - to meet; to experience or deal with something, especially a problem บประสบการณ์ (ปัญหา)
National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB or "Sa-pa-pat") - Thai government planning agency for economic development, creates five year plans with an agenda of: 1. Alleviation of Poverty and Income Distribution problems, 2. Enhancing Thailand’s Competitiveness, 3. Promoting Social Capital Development, 4. Promoting Sustainable Development (See Wikipedia)
risk - the possibility that something dangerous or unpleasant might happen ความเสี่ยง
brain drain - when highly educated and skilled people move away from a place to seek higher incomes and better opporunities (See Wikipedia)
According to NESDB's report, workers between 40 and 59 accounted for 41% or 15.76 million out of a total workforce of 38.32 million people in the country.
Workers between 25 and 39 account for 37.8% or 14.49 million of the total workforce.
workforce
- แรงงาน all the people in an area or country available for work, all
the people who work for a company
X accounts for Y% of Z - X is Y% of Z
X accounts for Y% of Z - X is Y% of Z
Those 60 or older make up 11% of the country's 67 million population, with that number increasing by 270,000 people per year.
The NESDB said the country's unemployment rate in the fourth quarter last year dropped to 1% of the entire workforce or 380,000 thanks to the improving economy.
X makes up Y% of Z - X
is Y% of Z
population - all the animals or plants of a particular type or group who live in one country, area or place กลุ่มพืชและสัตว์ที่อาศัยอยู่ในบริเวณหนึ่ง
unemployment - การตกงาน the number of people in a region or country who are available for work and currently seeking work (workforce) but are without work (See Wikipedia)
rate - the level or speed at which something happens or changes, or the amount or number of times it happens or changes in a particular period อัตรา
fourth quarter - one or more people who provide help, information or a particular reaction to something but who are not usually named
population - all the animals or plants of a particular type or group who live in one country, area or place กลุ่มพืชและสัตว์ที่อาศัยอยู่ในบริเวณหนึ่ง
unemployment - การตกงาน the number of people in a region or country who are available for work and currently seeking work (workforce) but are without work (See Wikipedia)
rate - the level or speed at which something happens or changes, or the amount or number of times it happens or changes in a particular period อัตรา
fourth quarter - one or more people who provide help, information or a particular reaction to something but who are not usually named
The number of people employed in the fourth quarter last year was 37.7 million, an increase of 1.8% compared to the same period of 2008, said Suwannee Khammun, the deputy secretary-general of the NESDB.
The 2009 unemployment average was 1.5% or 570,000 out of 38.66 million workers.
employed
- have a job
deputy - a person who is given the power to do something instead of another person, or the person whose rank is immediately below that of the leader of an organisation รอง, ตัวแทน,ผู้รักษาการแทน
deputy - a person who is given the power to do something instead of another person, or the person whose rank is immediately below that of the leader of an organisation รอง, ตัวแทน,ผู้รักษาการแทน
Mrs Suwannee attributed the decline in unemployment to the economy starting to pick up, improved educational opportunities after the government introduced 15 years of free schooling, as well as improved access to medical services
This year, the unemployment rate is estimated at 1.4% out of a workforce of 39 million, she said.
attributed X to Y - claimed
the cause of X was Y
pick up - go faster, grow and improve
opportunities - a situation where it is possible to do something that you want to do
access - the right, ability or opportunity to have or use something ได้รับสิทธิ์หรือโอกาสในการใช้
services - บริการต่างๆ things produced in service industries, not a physical good that can be bought, a waitress and a cook in a restaurant provide a service, technically: a sequence of activities that does not result in ownership of the outcome (See Wikipedia on services and the goods and services continuum)
pick up - go faster, grow and improve
opportunities - a situation where it is possible to do something that you want to do
access - the right, ability or opportunity to have or use something ได้รับสิทธิ์หรือโอกาสในการใช้
services - บริการต่างๆ things produced in service industries, not a physical good that can be bought, a waitress and a cook in a restaurant provide a service, technically: a sequence of activities that does not result in ownership of the outcome (See Wikipedia on services and the goods and services continuum)
(Source: Bangkok Post, Labour shortage looming, 3/03/2010, Chatrudee Theparat, link)
