Kind of misleading data. The number of cab/tuk tuk drivers and street vendors is astounding, way more than there should be. Technically employed, but driving the wage down.
While I agree with the general conclusion of the other comments nobody seems to get the reasons right. Yes, the number is incorrect. But they don't need to make up the number. If you don't offer any social security system, then there is no reason for people to go to the office. They don't go because of "cultural" reasons. They don't go because there's no benefit. In a country like Germany you actually get money and basic products like fridge, apartment, maybe even a TV. If you have to choose between trying something crazy/risky or going to the agency most people in Germany will go to the job agency. No cultural reason, just rewards.<p>So in the end nobody is lying but the basic structure of the system is different which makes different true numbers. to make a more reasonable comparison the unofficial workers should be counted instead of the unemployed. But the thing is that they are hard to count.
I think the number is BS. The Thai government lies at least as much as the US government.<p>Forget the government numbers. The reality is that in Thailand, as in most countries, the public assistance/social safety net available is so inadequate it might as well not exist. Its not that the government doesn't try. Its just that the reality of contemporary economics means that providing an adequate social safety net, even in the wealthiest countries, is difficult to impossible. Well, let me qualify that a bit. The last I heard, they did have public healthcare, although the standards lag far behind private providers.<p>There may be a way to make the rules more fair for poorer people or poorer countries or to make people more secure in terms of basic needs. Right now though the structures don't align well with those goals. And most countries have to work within the same economic structure but with vastly fewer resources than the US.
If there is no social security system, then how does the government (or anyone else) gets to this number?<p>Let's assume for a moment that the number in the article is correct, it's important to understand that Thailand's culture has a form of social security build in. In Thailand it's very normal for children to take not only care of their parents (financially) but also the rest of their family. So, maybe from a cultural point of view, Thailand doesn't need a social security system and might also be the reason why the number in the article is so low.