As of the fourth quarter of 2023, the number of employed workers is 51.5 million, increasing by 130,400 people compared to the previous quarter and 414,600 compared to the same period last year, the GSO said in a recent report on the 2023 socio-economic situation.
The growth is attributed to increased production and business activities in response to Tet (Lunar New Year) holiday demands.
Vietnam’s labor force (aged 15 and above) in 2023 counts for 52.4 million people. Among them, 51.3 million people are employed, an increase of 1.35 percent compared to the previous year.
Most of them work in services (20.3 million people), followed by industrial sectors and construction (17.2 million people), and agriculture, forestry and fisheries (13.8 million people).
The country’s total population is estimated at 100.3 million, rising 0.84 percent in comparison to 2022.
According to the GSO, the average monthly income in 2023 is VND 7.1 million (US$293), growing by VND 459,000 (US$19) or 6.9 percent year-on-year.
There is a wage gap between workers of different genders and in different locations, with men earning a monthly average of VND 8.1 million (US$334) against VND 6 million (US$247) for women.
The average monthly income for workers in urban areas is VND 8.7 million (US$359), while this figure is VND 6.2 million (US$ 256) in rural areas.
The GSO report also revealed that the average income per capita in 2023 is estimated at 4.95 million ($204) per person per month, increasing by 5.9 percent compared to the previous year.
According to surveys, 30.4 percent of households were negatively impacted by hiking prices, while 4.6 percent were affected by diseases.
As of Q4-2023, the number of unemployed people in the working age is 1.06 million, or 2.03 percent of the country’s labor force.
Particularly, with efforts to carry out comprehensive measures to recover and develop the labor market, the unemployment rate in the southeastern region decreased by 0.41 percentage points to 2.67 percent in Q4, said the GSO.
In HCM City, a municipality in the region and the largest economic hub of the country, the unemployment rate stands at 2.91 percent, 0.78 percentage points lower than the previous quarter.
Brief reports from localities also showed that the number of workers temporarily made redundant in Q4 also decreased, now standing at around 77,800 people.
Most of them worked in foreign-invested companies (72.6 percent), and in footwear and textile businesses (respectively 45.7 percent and 25.1 percent).
Approximately 85,500 people lost their jobs in Q4-2023 (32,900 people less compared to the previous quarter and 32,100 less compared to the same period last year). A majority of them were working in the non-public sector (75.2 percent) and in HCM City (28,100 people).
