1.08 mln Vietnamese people unemployed in Q4

Vietnam recorded 1.08 million unemployed people in the fourth quarter of 2022, up 24,900 from the previous quarter, but down 520,000 year-on-year.

The country's unemployment rate inched up 0.04 percentage points from Q3 to 2.32% in Q4.

The General Statistics Office (GSO) on Tuesday attributed the higher unemployment rate in Q4 to a lack of orders which forced firms, especially those in the apparel, footwear and wood processing sectors, to cut working hours or lay off workers.

The GSO added that among the 50.6 million employed people (aged from 15) in 2022, 18.6 million reside in urban areas and 31.9 million in rural areas.

Around 13.91 million worked in the agriculture-forestry-fisheries sector, or 27.5% of the total; 16.97 million in industry and construction (33.6%); and 19.69 million in services (38.9%).

The GSO also noted that the average monthly income of a laborer was VND6.7 million ($286), up VND927,000, or a 16% increase year-on-year.

4.4 million people worked in autarky, consuming goods they produced. The majority of those people have been heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vietnam’s index of industrial production (IIP) recorded a 1% fall in December from the previous month due to a lack of orders, high input material prices, and a shortage of input materials, according to the GSO. Sectors with impressive growth in 2022 were beverages with a 32.3% year-on-year rise (beer 35.3%); medicine, pharmaceutical chemistry and herbs (19.2%); machinery production (19.1%); wood and wooden products (17.2%).

The two sectors posting the most negative growth were rubber and plastics products (minus 6.6%), and metal production (minus 2.5%). Negative growth was also recorded in crude oil exploitation (1.3%), fish feed (3.8%), raw steel and metal (12.3%), and mobile phones (9.1%).