Factors Affecting the Labor Force Participation and Working Hours of Thai Workers under the COVID-19 Situation

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to study factors affecting work participation and working hours of      3 types of Thai workers such as formal workers, informal workers, and unemployed workers, under the COVID-19 situation. This is done by using secondary data from the National Statistical Office (NSO) of B.E. 2019. The data was analyzed with a Polychotomous Choice Selectivity Model, and estimate coefficient by maximum likelihood estimation. The research findings showed that the most of factors affecting work participation in COVID-19 situation will be the same as in normal situations, including factors such as education level, marital status, and head of household. However, there are some factors that affect it differently from the normal situation. For example, female workers will have more opportunities to participate in the labor force than males, elderly workers will have more opportunities to join the labor force, workers with more household members are more likely to lose their jobs, and workers living outside the municipality will have more opportunities to enter the informal sector. In addition, it was also found that age, education level, and the area of residence affected the number of working hours during the COVID-19 situation.