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9. Working in Thailand

Thailand at a Glance

Working in Thailand

Many people working in Thailand have found an occupation in the service sector.

While working in Thailand as an expatriate, you will participate in South East Asia’s most dynamic economy. Unfortunately, in 2009, the country experienced negative growth for the first time in years. The global crisis also affected the 34 million laborers and employees working in Thailand’s various industries.

However, the growth rate for 2010 was an impressive 7.6% – a clear sign that the efforts of everyone working in Thailand have borne fruit. While the economy grew well into 2011, though, the flooding in southern Thailand disrupted the lives of numerous people working in Thailand: In October 2011, heavy rainfall and high water destroyed several industrial complexes, causing an enormous damage to the local manufacturing sector.

At the moment, over 42% of the labor force is working in Thailand’s agricultural sector, but only contributing 10% of the gross domestic product. About a third of all people working in Thailand are employed in the service industry, which creates half the annual GDP.

Expats are particularly needed to fill specialist positions in Thailand’s industrial sectors. However, with professional experience in certain service industries, you also bring the best qualifications for working in Thailand to the table.

Working in Thailand: Bangkok

There is a great discrepancy in economic development between rural Thailand and some major cities of this newly industrialized country, especially Bangkok and Pattaya. The populace working in Thailand’s countryside produces crops like rice, cassava roots, corn, sugarcane, soybeans, and coconuts for subsistence farming and the international market.

However, working in Thailand’s manufacturing industries or in Bangkok’s Central Business District is far more lucrative. Most expats working in Thailand do so in the service sector clustered in Bangkok’s more central khet (districts), especially in the Central Business District.

The latter is home to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, which is of great importance to the entire South East Asian Market. It also houses the regional branches of international banks (e.g. Barclays, Crédit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, HSBC…) and the offices of countless people working in Thailand’s tourist or transport industries (especially airlines).

Working in Thailand: The Eastern Seaboard Zone

The Eastern Seabord Zone near Pattaya and some southern and western parts of the Bangkok Metropolitan Area house the most laborers working in Thailand’s export-oriented production plants. They manufacture textiles, automobile parts, processed rubber, and plastics as well as electronics and PC parts for export to China, Japan, and the USA. (In fact, the 2011 floods caused a global shortage in hard-disk drives that is expected to last for most of 2012.) Expatriate employees with industrial expertise might be sent on an assignment to companies from that sector.

Working in Thailand: Labor Restrictions

If you are a future expatriate interested in working in Thailand, you should be aware, though, that there are certain restrictions on foreign residents working in Thailand. According to the Foreign Business Act, aliens should not be working in Thailand’s construction sector, in retail, as office assistants, and in some other fields of employment.

If you want to be working in Thailand, your best opportunities are qualified positions in manufacturing and engineering or in finance and tourism. The hospitality industry is another lucrative sector if you have good to excellent English skills and some knowledge of Thai.

Working in Thailand: Work Visa

Also, before you start working in Thailand, always make sure that you have a signed employment contract and a B visa that includes a work permit. These are basic requirements for living in Thailand and working in Thailand legally.