Economic woes have affected Thais from all walks of life and those hardest hit are new graduates who face a lot of uncertainty in their personal future and the search for gainful employment.

Poll results indicate that the unemployment rate among new graduates is expected to increase, up to a point where 50 percent will be jobless immediately after they receive their diplomas.

Adding to the poor prospects, employment rates across the country have also dropped as a result of business closures and sluggish investment.

The Thai Department of Employment estimated that in 2014, there will be at least 547,800 people entering the workforce, and around 336,900 of them are Bachelor’s Degree graduates, accounting for 61.5 percent of job applicants.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said that the number of new graduates will outnumber the positions available in many companies by about 50 percent. From this figure, the FTI predicted that at least 150,000 graduates will be unable to find jobs as they try to enter the workforce.

The Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) also forecast that this year, Thailand ’s GDP will only grow between 2.5 to 2.7 percent and the unemployment rate will reach 1-1.2 percent in comparison with last year’s rate of 0.8 percent.-VNA