The Thai government expects over a million vacancies to be listed on a new recruitment platform, according to official estimates released at Job Expo Thailand over the weekend. The national job fair, which is held in Bangkok and runs from Saturday, September 26 to Monday, September 28, aims to try to alleviate the unemployment crisis that has been ballooning since COVID-19 shut down tourism and associated industries.

The "Thai Mee Ngan Tam" (Thais Have Jobs) recruitment platform was launched on the first day of the expo to list domestic and foreign job opportunities across a range of sectors. The Ministry of Labor estimates that local companies in the private sector will post over 200,000 positions, while government agencies will post 400,000. Overseas companies are expected to account for another 100,000 listings, and a further 300,000 listings are expected to specifically target fresh graduates.

During the expo, the Ministry of Labor also launched a salary co-payment scheme to increase the employment rate of fresh graduates. Under this scheme, the government will subsidize 50 percent of fresh graduates' salary for one year, and companies that participate in the scheme will be required to inform the ministry if they lay off more than 15 percent of their employees in a single year.

"New graduates may remain jobless for a long time if they are not hired one or two years after graduation. The subsidy aims to address this and help them move forward in the labour market," said Labor Minister Suchart Chomklin.

The Thai economy is predicted to shrink by 8.5 percent this year. Approximately 3 million people are currently unemployed, with the number projected to hit 8 million according to estimates by industry associations.