Factory closures lead to increased employment in the service sector

According to the data, 561 factories were closed in the first five months of this year. Despite this, more than 3,573 factories closed between January 2011 and May 2024, resulting in the loss of more than 300,000 jobs.

Fortunately, more than half of them managed to return to the job market.

The council report showed that the employment rate among hospitality and tourism entrepreneurs in the second quarter of this year rose from 87% in the previous quarter to 99%. This increase is due to the return of the tourism industry to normal, which has led to a significant increase in demand for workers.

Demand inadvertently coincided with the closure of various manufacturing and industrial plants as a result of weaker exports. As a result, more than 300,000 unemployment benefit claims in manufacturing were absorbed by the service sector, keeping the national unemployment rate at around 100,000.

Meanwhile, the rapid growth of the service sector has attracted more than 500,000 new graduates.

This phenomenon reflects a significant transfer of labor from the industrial sector to the service sector. As a result, the tourism industry sector does not face a labor shortage.

However, there is a shortage of skilled workers with specific skills, such as massage/spa therapists, tour guides, professional chefs, kitchen staff, and hotel receptionists. All of these positions require more specialized skills than general workers.