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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA customer scans a QR code to pay for vegetables at a stall participating in the government\u2019s Thai Chuay Thai Plus co-payment scheme at a fresh market in Thon Buri, Bangkok on June 1. (Photo: Chanat Katanyu)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Thailand\u2019s average household income declined in 2025, while lower-income households increasingly relied on financial assistance, according to several research institutions.<\/p>\n
The latest study by SCB EIC, a research centre under Siam Commercial Bank, reveals that the average household income in 2025 stood at 28,308 baht per month, a 2.5% decrease from the previous surveyed figure of 29,030 baht in 2023.<\/p>\n
This marks the first decline in six years, primarily driven by a 4.8% contraction in earned income, reflecting the fragility of the labour market and the concentration of household income among high-income households amid a slowly recovering economy over the past several years.<\/p>\n
The EIC analysis is based on the 2025 Household Socio-Economic Survey conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO), which covered 57,600 households nationwide.<\/p>\n
The study also found that Thai households are relying more heavily on financial assistance, particularly those in lower-income segments.<\/p>\n
Financial assistance includes old-age and disability allowances, as well as other forms of aid provided by the government and various organisations. It also covers financial support from individuals outside the household.<\/p>\n
\u201cHousehold income derived from financial assistance increased by 19.4% in 2025 compared with 2023. Meanwhile, 60% of lower-income households — those earning no more than 15,000 baht per month — relied on financial assistance,\u201d EIC reported.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the debt burden among lower-income households increased by 1.9% in 2025 from 2023. More than 50% of indebted households reported having insufficient income to cover their expenses, while more than two-thirds experienced income shortfalls.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, middle-income households, defined as those earning less than 50,000 baht per month, faced growing financial pressure from both essential living expenses and debt obligations.<\/p>\n
As a result, this group is likely to face tighter liquidity and a reduced ability to cope with rising living costs in 2026, with inflation expected to accelerate.<\/p>\n
EIC stated that rising household vulnerability could weigh on domestic consumption over the longer term. In the short term, the government\u2019s 400-billion-baht emergency loan decree is expected to help ease pressure on household spending.<\/p>\n
Over the longer term, however, the government should focus on improving household income, enhancing labour skills and strengthening household financial resilience, the research institution suggested.<\/p>\n
Disproportionate impact<\/p>\n
Separately, Bnomics, a digital research platform under Bangkok Bank, reported that uneven labour income growth has disproportionately affected lower-income groups, despite Thailand\u2019s GDP per capita continuing to rise over the past decade.<\/p>\n
GDP per capita increased from 221,195 baht in 2016 to 288,315 baht in 2025, representing average annual growth of 3%, compared with average annual GDP growth of 1.1% over the same period.<\/p>\n
According to NSO data, the top 10% of income earners accounted for 32% of total labour income in 2023, while the bottom 50% received only 22% combined. Workers in the top 10% earned an average of 36,706 baht per month, compared with 2,635 baht for those in the bottom 10% — a gap of nearly 14 times.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a Bank of Thailand study found that the ratio of labour income to GDP declined from 49% during 2001-05 to 44% during 2016-23.<\/p>\n
The decline was attributed to various factors, including changes in labour productivity, automation, demographic shifts, evolving consumer lifestyles, an ageing society, rising household debt and other structural challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlthough GDP per capita and overall economic growth have increased, lower-income groups have not experienced a corresponding improvement in their quality of life,\u201d Bnomics noted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A customer scans a QR code to pay for vegetables at a stall participating in the government\u2019s Thai…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":646241,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,217683,1294,217684,217680,217682,217681,8724,217679,217678,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-646240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economic-inequality","tag-economy","tag-gdp-per-capita-thailand","tag-household-debt-thailand","tag-labour-market-thailand","tag-national-statistical-office","tag-scb-eic","tag-thai-economy-2025","tag-thailand-household-income","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=646240"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/646240\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/646241"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=646240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=646240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=646240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}