BANGKOK — Thailand's employment edged down in the first quarter (Q1) of this year due to a drop in agricultural jobs, the country's economic planning agency said on Monday.

The Southeast Asian country's labor force amounted to 39.6 million individuals in the January-March period, representing a 0.1-percent year-on-year decrease, easing from 1.7-percent growth in the final quarter of 2023, according to the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).

The slight decline was attributed to a contraction of more than 5.7 percent year on year in agricultural employment during the offseason, while nonfarm jobs grew 2.2 percent, driven by a rebound in tourism, the NESDC said in a statement.

Employment in the hotel and restaurant sector expanded 10.6 percent from a year earlier, thanks to over 9.3 million foreign tourist arrivals in the first three months of 2024, the agency said.

The kingdom's unemployment rate was registered at 1.01 percent in the March quarter, up from 0.81 percent in the previous three months, according to the NESDC.

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