Vietnam Q3 unemployment lowest in 3 years

Vietnam's unemployment rate dropped 1.7 percentage points year-on-year to 2.28% in the third quarter, the lowest since 2020.

The figures for the same period in 2021, 2020 and 2019 were 3.98%, 2.5% and 2.17%, respectively.

In the first nine months of the year, the rate was 2.35%, lower than the 2.91% recorded in the same period last year, according to the General Statistics Office (GSO).

Unemployment among people in the 15- 24 age group was 7.86% overall but 9.65 % in urban areas.

The nine-month underemployment rate was 2.29%; 1.75% in urban areas and 2.63% in rural areas.

Amid the country’s post-pandemic economic recovery, its workforce rose 1.2 million or 2.4% year-on-year to 51.6 million people in Jan-Sep.

Of the 50.5 million employed people,13.9 million worked in the agriculture-forestry-fisheries sector, 16.9 million in industry and construction and 19.7 million in the service sector.

The average monthly income of contracted laborers was VND7.5 million ($314) in the period, up VND805,000 or 12% year-on-year.

Vietnam recorded 112,791 newly-registered companies in the past nine months with a total capital of VND1,272 trillion ($53.29 billion) and 758,124 employees, up 31.9%, 6.4%, and 16.8%, years-on-year, respectively. A total of 50,509 businesses resumed operations, up 56.1% year-on-year.

Overall, the market saw 163,300 new players, up 38.6%. However, the country also saw 62,544 firms suspend their activities temporarily, 36,330 others halt operations to process dissolution and 13,824 complete their dissolution. In total, 112,698 businesses left the market, up 24.8% year-on-year.