Average household debt for Thai workers recorded a historic surge of almost 30% to around 205,000 baht in 2021 when compared with 2019, driven by the pandemic, says the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).
The survey by the UTCC’s Center for Economic and Business Forecasting gauged 1,256 respondents across the country from April 18-22. Respondents had less than 15,000 baht in monthly income. The survey is conducted annually, except in 2020 when the lockdown prevented the survey from being carried out.
In 2019, the average household debt was 158,855 baht, up 15.1% year-on-year.
Thanavath Phonvichai, president of the UTCC, said 98.1% of the respondents had household debt, up from 95% in 2019. They said they had to seek loans for daily spending and debt repayment when falling short of cash.
Some 67.6% of the respondents said they had no savings….
