According to the General Statistics Office’s (GSO) latest report, Vietnam had 51.6 million workers aged 15 and older in Q2 in 2022, up 0.4 million over the previous quarter and 0.6 million over Q2 in 2021. The number of workers aged 15 and above who had jobs in this period was 50.5 million, up 504,000 or 1.01 percent over Q1 in 2022 and up 701,000 or 1.41 percent over the same period last year.

GSO said that implementation of the socio-economic recovery and development program and Resolution 11/NQ-CP with solutions to assist workers helped the labor market recover strongly in Q2.

The number of workers lacking jobs in Q2 in 2022 was 881,000, down 447,000 from the quarter before, and 263,000 year on year. The ratio of workers lacking job in Q2 in 2022 was 1.96 percent, 1.05 percentage points down compared with Q1, and 0.64 percentage point over Q2 in 2021. 

The ratio of workers lacking jobs in urban areas was lower than rural areas (1.37 percent vs 2.32 percent). The underemployment has significantly improved with a drop in both urban and rural areas (2.39 percent and 3.4 percent, respectively, in Q1 in 2022).

The monthly average income of workers in Q2 was VND6.6 million, an increase of VND206,000 over Q1 and VND542,000 over Q2 in 2021. The monthly average income of male workers was 1.34 times higher than that of females (VND7.5 million vs VND5.6 million). The average income of workers in urban areas was 1.38 times higher than those in rural areas (VND8 million vs VND5.8 million).

The chart of the quarterly average income of workers in recent years, including the years which were not impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, showed that the fluctuations in workers’ income in Q2 in comparison with Q1 this year are different from that of previous years.

In 2019-2021, the Q2 income was mostly lower than Q1 because Q1 was the time when workers received money from overtime working and Tet bonus. But it was different in Q2 this year and the income in Q2 saw positive growth in comparison with the previous quarter and the same period last year. 

GSO believes that this is a sign showing that Vietnam’s economy is growing well.

Workers’ income in Q2/2022 grew by 8.9 percent year on year (VND542,000) and by 19.7 percent (VND1.1 million) compared to Q2/2020. Workers’ lives are returning to the level before the pandemic.

Q2/2022 also witnessed the growth in average income of workers in all 21 business fields compared to Q2/2021, particularly mining with VND9.7 million/month, up by 17.1 percent, processing and manufacturing VND7.4 million, up 12.4 percent, electricity production and distribution VND9.6 million, up 10.7 percent, and accommodation and food services VND6.2 million, up by 10.2 percent.

Even the fields that are affected the most by the increasing petrol price like transportation and warehouse also reported higher income in Q2/2022, with VND8.9 million, up by 4.2 percent over Q1/2022 and 9.9 percent over Q2/2021.

The number of unemployed people in working age in Q2/2022 was 1.1 million, down by 41,600 from the previous quarter and 112,000 over Q1/2021. The unemployment rate of people in working age in Q2 was 2.32 percent, down by 0.14 and 0.3 percentage points, respectively.

The unemployment rate among young people, aged 15-24 in Q2 was 7.63 percent, down by 0.3 percentage point over Q1 and 0.16 percentage point year on year. The unemployment rate of young people was 9.13 percent in urban areas, 2.3 percentage points higher than rural areas.

Luong Bang