1 - BANGKOK, Thailand -- The Bank of Thailand (BOT) on Thursday said in the worst case scenario, if the gross domestic product stop to grow, the unemployment rate would rise to 3.7 percent or around 1.4 million people, including newly graduates and farmers after cultivating, would be jobless.

2 - Amara Sriphayak, Domestic Economic Department's senior director of BOT, said unemployment is likely to be more severe than the previous year because the economy in 2009 has difficulty to grow, due to world economic recession.

3 - Meanwhile, this year government targets 2.5 percent on economic growth and has economic stimulus measures to assist about 1 million unemployed nationwide.

4 - Amara said the Monetary Policy Committee's sharp interest rate cut to 2 percent will spur the economy by devaluing money, encouraging people to spend, and enabling financial institutions to issue credits at less cost.

5 - Amara believed that people will spend more when they have more confidence in the economic and political situation.

Source: AsiaNews.net