The figure was confirmed at a meeting of the subcommittee, chaired by Deputy Governor Ronnarong Thipsiri, held at the Phuket Skill Development Institute 21.offices in Phuket Town yesterday (Jan 29).
The aim of the meeting was to assess Phuket’s labour situation and outline career development strategies for the year ahead, said an official report of the meeting.
The meeting included representatives from various agencies who reviewed labour statistics presented by the National Statistics Office.
According to the data, Phuket’s population stands at 619,978, with 500,422 individuals of working age (15 and older), making up 80.73% of the total population.
Of the 355,350 people in the labour force, 352,288 (99.15%) are employed, while 3,062 (0.86%) are unemployed.
Officials also discussed labour demand based on figures from the Phuket Provincial Employment Office.
Between Sept 26 and Dec 25, 2024, businesses in the province sought to fill 1,335 positions across 14 occupations, the report noted.
As of Jan 23, 2025, there remains a demand for just 876 workers, with the top five most in-demand positions being store sales staff, food and beverage service workers, customer service staff, building cleaners and general labourers.
To address labour needs and enhance workforce skills, provincial officials have developed a labour training plan aligned with 12 economic and social principles, the report said.
The project includes training programs in four key industries: tourism and health tourism (targeting 345 trainees), food processing (20 trainees) and digital and other industries (635 trainees).
Additionally, the Phuket Skill Development Institute 21 has launched a labour training initiative for the tourism and service sectors, backed by a budget of B3.466 million, the report said..
The programme aims to train 800 individuals through 40 classes, with five classes completed so far, covering 110 people and using B368,600 of the budget.
The meeting also reviewed the proposed Independent labour Promotion and Protection Act, which has been submitted to the Cabinet by the Ministry of labour.
The draft legislation aims to provide independent workers with enhanced protections, including occupational safety, fair income, social security benefits and the ability to form associations for rights advocacy. The law is expected to take effect within 2025.
Monitoring the labour market and implementing targeted workforce development programs was expected to strengthen the Phuket economy, enhance competitiveness and improve workers’ quality of life in the long term, the report concluded.