9.1 million local workers adversely affected by COVID-19 pandemic in Q1

Of the figure, the number of men makes up 51% of the total, while the number of people aged between 25 and 54 accounts for roughly 66% of the figure. 

This information was unveiled by the General Statistics Office (GSO) during a press conference held on April 16 in Hanoi aimed at reviewing the local labour and employment situation during the first quarter of the year.

Out of a total of 9.1 million people adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, 540,000 people lost their jobs, whilst 2.8 million people endured temporary work stoppages.  

Furthermore, 3.1 million people have seen their working hours cut down, been forced to leave work, or have been laid-off, while 6.5 million workers have had their incomes reduced.

Most notably, the third outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic which occurred over the Lunar New Year period significantly increased the number of underemployed workers in comparison to the previous quarter and the same period from last year.

Throughout the reviewed period, the average monthly income of employees reached VND6.3 million, representing an increase of VND339,000 compared to the previous quarter and a rise of VND106,000 compared to last year’s corresponding period.

The number of unemployed people of working age hit nearly 1.1 million, marking an increase of more than 12,000 people over the same period from last year.

To deal with the situation, the GSO has proposed that a number of solutions be implemented in order to remove difficulties for the labour market. This can be done through the acceptance of vaccine passports, thereby developing the necessary criteria to reopen the international tourism market in order to revive the local tourism industry.

It is anticipated that the development of these sectors will attract a large number of employees as a contribution to fully utilising the existing workforce.