VietNamNet Bridge – Wages of Vietnamese laborers have increased but have remained very low compared to other regional countries, said Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, director of the Institute of Labor Science and Social Affairs.

Illustrative image -- File photo

A recent study of the institute showed the average monthly income from the main jobs of laborers inched up only 0.5% per year, and reached VND4.362 million per person in the 2010-2014 period.

The monthly wage of rural laborers was lower than their urban counterparts. However, the income gap significantly narrowed to 27.8% last year from 34% in 2010, as incomes fell in urban areas but increased in rural areas.

According to the study, workers in the agro-forestry-fisheries sector had the lowest average income in last year’s final quarter, only VND2.852 million per person per month. Meanwhile, the average incomes of industry-construction and service workers were VND4.242 million and VND4.907 million per person per month respectively.

The lowest pay went to unskilled laborers with VND3 million per person per month while those holding managerial positions earned the highest monthly income of VND6.938 million each, followed by high-level skilled employees with VND6.38 million each.

According to Huong, Vietnam’s labor restructuring was slow compared to other ASEAN countries as the percentage of its laborers in the agricultural sector only ranked after Laos, Indonesia and Myanmar. The proportion declined slowly and was nearly 47% of total labor force last year, but agriculture made up 17.16% of the country’s GDP.

The study also pointed out Vietnam’s labor productivity was among the lowest in Asia-Pacific.

With the purchasing power parity in 2005 adopted, Vietnam’s labor productivity in 2013 was US$5,440 and only higher than Laos (US$5,396), Cambodia (US$3,989) and Myanmar (US$2,828). It was equivalent to only 55% of Indonesia, 53% of the Philippines, 40% of Thailand, 20% of Malaysia and one-fifteenth of Singapore.

Huong quoted figures of the International Labor Organization as saying that Vietnam was capable of creating six million more jobs, equivalent to one-tenth of the number of new jobs in ASEAN towards 2025, thanks to establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community.

Huong forecast the labor demand would keep rising in the sectors of manufacturing-processing, electricity, gas, information and communications, health and social assistance but decline in the finance, banking and insurance sectors.

SGT