The Government has been making efforts to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities, and it also supports the grouping of disabled persons and those who take care of them for employment.

Section 33 of the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Act requires both private companies and public agencies to employ persons with disabilities to work in suitable positions in the ratio of one disabled person to every 100 non-disabled employees (1:100). One more disabled person may be employed, if the number of non-disabled employees exceeds the next 50. In Section 34, employers or owners of the establishments who are not able to employ persons with disabilities must contribute each year to the Fund for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.

Deputy Government Spokesperson Rachada Dhnadirek said that statistics show that 14,444 workplaces across the country employed 63,904 persons with disabilities in 2022. The Government has set a target of 68,000 disabled persons to be employed in 2023.

Ms. Rachada stated that part of the contributions to the Fund for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities had been used as loans offered to disabled persons for their occupations, so that they could have earnings to support themselves and their families.

The Ministry of Labor has also helped create more job opportunities for disabled persons in order to improve their living conditions and reduce social inequality. According to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, there are about 2.1 million persons with disabilities who have registered to receive welfare cards. Out of this number, 52.2 percent are male and 47.8 percent are female.

Disabled persons aged 60 and over account for about 56 percent of the total number of persons with disabilities in Thailand. About 36.8 percent of the working group of disabled persons have employment. Persons with disabilities who cannot be engaged in employment as they could not help themselves account for 6.17 percent of the total number of the working group of disabled persons. 

About 53 percent are engaged in agriculture, 22.5 percent work for hire, 6 percent are self-employed, another 6 percent are company employees, and 1.13 percent are employed in state agencies.