The growth of a large image, such as a country's economy, starts from the smallest unit, like labour. If Thailand does not have a robust labour market development system and if Thai labour does not rise to develop its potential, the country’s economic growth will inevitably decline.

An important issue is adjusting the labour market structure to help drive the Thai economy. What are some ways to do this, and how will workers benefit from it? Let's take a look.

First of all, we would like to take you to see the problems of the labour market structure and what obstacles weaken it and affect economic growth.

The existing structural issues in the labour market.

●        Proportion of elderly people

Currently, Thailand is stepping into a full-fledged ageing society. According to the data, the proportion of elderly people in 2017 increased from 13% to 31% in one year, while the working-age population remained the same or decreased. This has resulted in a labour shortage driving the country's economy.

Regarding investment and savings, the working-age population has to bear more burden, leading to increased expenses, reduced savings, and decreased investment. Therefore, the government must increase spending on welfare to serve the elderly population, and the declining tax revenue is due to a more significant proportion of elderly people with no income. This has led to a decrease in the country's investment and savings.

●        Workforce in the agricultural sector

From the entire labour market, the agricultural sector's sub-sector labour accounts for 1 in 3, which is considered a massive group of labour. Although Thailand is known for being an agrarian country with a large amount of rice and fruit exports, the disproportionate size of the labour market in the agricultural sector has led to a shortage of labour in other groups, hindering their ability to develop jobs and the economy. Additionally, the farm sector faces environmental challenges and increasing production costs, leading to farmers’ high debt levels and poverty.

●        Non-systematic labour

In 2020, Thailand’s labour market had a significant number of informal workers, or those not registered in the social security system, totalling 20.4 million people or 54% of the total workforce. These informal workers, who comprise a large proportion of the labour market, may negatively impact the country's economic growth and social conditions due to income inequality and limited opportunities to increase labour productivity.

Therefore, restructuring the labour market from these issues is an important matter that all parties must collaborate on to drive the Thai economy forward.

3 mechanisms to adjust the labour market structure, driving the Thai economy

The driving force of the Thai economy will not be able to reach its full potential if we cannot adjust the structure of the labour market to support adaptation and cope with various uncertainties. Therefore, both the public and private sectors must have mechanisms to adjust the labour market structure more clearly. Here are:

1. Institutional Mechanism Integration Mechanisms (Institution)

The integration of institutional cooperation by creating an education system linked to the labour market, integrating roles between the public and private sectors through training to develop labour skills to meet the needs of all stakeholders effectively, following the Demand-Driven approach and developing labour skills to keep up with changes.

2. Infrastructure Development Mechanism for the Labor Market (Infrastructure)

Developing a comprehensive labour database system to reflect individual labour work at the personal level, enabling the analysis of labour skill weaknesses and designing skill development policies accurately, with evident success indicators based on Data-Driven Policy principles.

3. Creating Suitable Incentives Mechanism (Incentive)

Designing incentives can help stimulate capable individuals to work by supporting the private sector in managing labour resources, controlling quality through performance-based compensation, using performance Ratings as an indicator of effectiveness, and providing the benefits labour needs to attract and retain talent.

From the mechanisms of adjusting the labour market structure, it can be seen that creating motivation for labour is very important. Therefore, let's take a look at the trend of welfare benefits that attract potential employees to work and strengthen the labour market together.

Employee health benefits are a strong motivator for job seekers.

●        Mental Health will be a Priority.

In the past year, mental health has received increasing attention in the workplace due to issues such as burnout and environmental toxins in the workplace affecting employees in companies, leading to various mental health problems. Therefore, in 2024, many people are seeking more comprehensive mental health benefits, such as supporting medical/ specialist consultations advocating for reducing intense emotions at work to improve the work environment.

●        Health Insurance

It must be accepted that many organisations in Thailand still burden their employees with health responsibilities. Some do not even have social security. The employees' needs may not be comprehensive health insurance but health insurance that will help them in unexpected situations. Therefore, providing health insurance to employees is essential in 2024.

For the mental health consultation and other healthcare expenses we will receive, the company will implement ‘group insurance’ covering various treatments. This will serve as a motivating benefit for employees to work for the company and also help support the labour market structure to drive the Thai economy further.

"Group insurance" is a health benefit that helps adjust the structure of the labour market to drive the Thai economy and cover workforce expenses.

Multiple Aspects of Protection

Group insurance protects various aspects that companies can offer to employees. This includes coverage for 'death’, whether due to illness or accidents, both during and outside of working hours, 24 hours a day. The insurance company will pay the insured amount to the designated beneficiaries or beneficiaries of the employee. It also provides coverage for expenses related to ‘health’, including compensation and medical expenses for injuries or illnesses. Additionally, additional coverage for 'critical illnesses' can also be chosen.

No need to reserve payment.

If we get sick, just go to hospitals and clinics within the network, present our ID card, and we can receive treatment immediately. When the hospital's finance staff summarises the expenses and if it does not exceed the treatment limit, we can even receive medicine to take home without paying upfront. This way, we do not have to impact our wallet. However, if there are excess treatment costs beyond the coverage in the policy, we only need to pay the difference. We do not need to reserve the total amount and wait for reimbursement later.

anxiety free

Not having group insurance may cause us to stress about handling health expenses. This stress can affect our work efficiency and may lead to taking time off to relax or finding a new job with these benefits, resulting in increased expenses in other areas.

Nevertheless, if supported by various sectors at the right time, the mechanism to adjust the labour market structure to drive the Thai economy can also benefit us directly. However, in the meantime, if we have group insurance, we can still enjoy the benefits.