Unemployment remains a major issue during the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of public enterprises are helping out by hiring people, who have lost their job or income, and new graduates struggling to find employment. Many people are having to take temporary jobs, rather than wasting time being unemployed.
Thai PBS is one such enterprise, which hired people at its vaccination site earlier this month. Opened last week, the centre is among the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s 25 vaccination sites outside hospitals. About 30 people have been hired.
A former video-cameraman revealed that he has been highly affected by the pandemic. He revealed that, last year, he was laid off from a news channel and became a freelance cameraman. All of his assignments, however, got cancelled. So, he decided to apply for a temporary job as a staff member at Thai PBS’s inoculation site.
“I became unemployed at the beginning of the year. Since the second wave of COVID and now the third, all my freelance work has disappeared. Thai PBS was hiring staff. I applied because I don’t want to stay at home with nothing to do,” said Korakit Inkongngam.
A former ground staff member for an airline said that she had not had any work for a few months already. Therefore, she decided to work as a call centre employee at Thai PBS, which she says, uses her communications skills efficiently.
“My job is communications and service. I have to gauge the tone of people who call, if they want help or are lodging a complaint,” Kanchana Karat said, adding that she has not yet resigned from the airline but the work was mainly paused, with staff rotating in shifts.
Another woman, who now works as a call centre employee, explained that the pandemic has affected her family’s coffee shop in Chiang Mai. She decided to come here because she thinks that finding a job in Bangkok will be a lot easier than in her hometown.
“This job has helped reduce the burden of paying my monthly bills, as I didn’t normally have any income, only expenses,” said Hataikan Tandee.
“I’ve been trying to earn money in several ways. I’m making my own brand of masks, selling my baked goods online and I’m selling whatever is there and can make me money,” she added.
Temporary employees earn 9,000-12,000 baht per month for their 7-month contract.
Meanwhile, a number of government authorities have listed job openings. The Ministry of Labour posted 1,774 job openings, for a one-year contract with an 18,000 baht monthly salary.
The Ministry of Transport will also be posting 546 job openings for 105 departments on July 16th. The Department of Airports may also hire 140 employees, such as information staff, which is still under consideration.
The Department of Employment estimates that 259,878 new graduates will be entering the job market this year, and another 283,432 next. The Thai cabinet, however, only allows 10,000 job postings in government agencies.
