Pandemic lowers incomes of Vietnamese workers
The average monthly income of employees was VND5.2 million, down VND877,000 compared to the previous quarter and VND603,000 over the same period last year.
At a press conference on labor and employment held by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam today, this agency said that the complicated developments of the fourth wave of Covid-19 epidemic in many localities, especially in key economic provinces and cities have made the employment situation worse in the third quarter of 2021.
The number of employed people fell sharply compared to the previous quarter and the same period last year, the unemployment rates have become worst. The average monthly income of employees decreased significantly compared to the previous quarter and the same period last year.
Notably, the percentage of trained workers with degrees and certificates in the third quarter of 2021 was 26.1 percent which is as same as the previous quarter and even 0.7 percentage points higher than the same period last year.
Out of 5.2 million people who have had no choice but become self-sufficient workers with poor education, more than three million people are in working age group accounting for 58.6 percent whereas employers increasingly require high requirements for skills; therefore, self-sufficient people with poor education find it hard to have a job.
Also in the third quarter, the average monthly income of employees was VND5.2 million dong, down VND877,000 against the previous quarter and VND603,000 over the same period last year.
Male workers are getting higher average monthly income than their female peers with VND6 million and VND4.3 million respectively. The average income of workers in cities is 1.35 times higher than their peers in rural areas.
The complicated developments of the Covid-19 epidemic have seriously affected the lives of workers. For instance, the average income of employees in the third quarter of 2021 was significantly lower than in the second quarter of 2020 with VND5.2 million and VND5.5 million respectively. Worse, the second quarter of 2020 recorded average income of employees dipped to its lowest level in ten years.
In the third quarter of 2021, most economic sectors recorded a decrease in the average income of employees compared to the previous quarter.
Employees in the service sector were the most heavily affected because they earned an average income of VND6.2 million a month, down VND1 million or 14.3 percent compared to the previous quarter. Industrial and construction workers' monthly wage was VND5.8 million, down VND906,000 or 13.5 percent compared to the previous quarter.
The complex and unpredictable developments of the Covid-19 pandemic have affected the agriculture, forestry and fishery sectors which were recorded laborers’ stable wage growth rate in recent years.
However, employees earned around VND3.4 million in the third quarter of the year, declining VND340,000 or 9.2 percent compared to the previous quarter.
The average income of workers in some economic sectors, which have been affected by the previous Covid-19 waves, will continue to face more difficulties in the third quarter of 2021 with a deep drop in average income compared to the previous quarter.
Laborers in the transport sector and warehousing industry saw a decrease of 20.3 percent in their wage or VND1.6 million while their counterparts in the accommodation sector and the foodservice industry saw a decrease of 21.2 percent in their wage or VND1.2 million compared to the previous quarter.
