ENG-2012 — Page 75

3

The Economy

registered growth almost throughout 2012. Government consumption expenditure grew by 3.7 per cent in real terms in 2012, following the 2.5 per cent growth in 2011.

Overall investment spending in terms of gross domestic fixed capital formation sustained strong growth of 9.1 per cent in 2012, following the 10.2 per cent expansion in 2011. As a number of large-scale infrastructure projects were under way, public sector construction activity grew markedly. Meanwhile, private sector building activity continued to thrive, growing strongly during the year. Overall building and construction expenditure grew by 12.3 per cent in real terms in 2012. Machinery and equipment acquisition grew appreciably through all four quarters, resulting in 10.6 per cent growth for 2012 as a whole, in spite of more cautious business sentiment (Chart 10).

Chart 10

20

Per cent

15

10

เก

0

-5

-10

-15

-20

Main Components of Domestic Demand (year-on-year rate of change in real terms)

Government consumption expenditure

Investment expenditure

in terms of gross domestic

fixed capital formation

Private consumption expenditure

Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Domestic demand still fared well, on the back of solid consumption and investment spending.

The Labour Market

The labour market remained tight in 2012, signifying another year of full employment. Thanks to the buoyant domestic economic activity, labour demand grew briskly during the year and total employment hit a new historical high of 3,689,600 in the fourth quarter. The unemployment situation enjoyed a broad-based improvement despite the subdued economic growth, with the unemployment rate falling to a 15-year low of 3.3 per cent for 2012 as a whole, from 3.4 per cent in 2011. Meanwhile, the underemployment situation was also broadly favourable, finishing the year at 1.5 per cent (Chart 11).

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