Vietnam unemployment falls to 2.26% in Q4, 2.28% for 2023

Vietnam’s unemployment rate fell 0.04 percentage points to 2.26% in the fourth quarter of 2023 and 0.06 percentage points to 2.28% for the whole of 2023, the General Statistics Office (GSO) reported Friday.

The country’s workforce reached 52.5 million in 2023, up 401,900 or 0.77% year-on-year, and the above figure was equivalent to 1.06 million people.

The unemployment rate was 2.27% in urban areas and 1.98% in rural areas. Regarding age, unemployment among young people (between 15 and 24 years old) was 7.63%.

The GSO attributed the better performance in Q4/2023 to the recovery of the labor market, especially in the southeastern region, with Ho Chi Minh City’s unemployment falling by 0.78 percentage points to 2.91% in the quarter.

The GSO also reported the number of workers resigning due to shortage of tasks was 77,800, down 73.7% year-on-year. Foreign-invested firms accounted for 72.6% of the total.

Regarding sectors, footwear and apparel made up the biggest portions of 45.7% and 25.1%, respectively. Overall, the number of workers quitting in Q4/2023 was 85,500, down 27.3%.

The number of underemployed workers was 906,600 in Q4/2023, or 1.98%. For the whole year, the figures were 918,500, or 2.01%. Meanwhile, the figures for trained laborers were 27.6% in Q4/2023 and 27% for the whole of 2023.

The average monthly income was VND7.1 million ($292.5) in 2023, up VND459,000 or 6.9% year-on-year. This reached VND8.7 million in urban areas and VND6.2 million in rural areas. By gender, the average monthly incomes were VND8.1 million ($329.2) for men and VND6 million ($242.8) for women.

Population exceeds 100 million

The country’s population exceeded 100.3 million, up 834,800 or 0.84%, in 2023, the GSO reported. The figure included 38.2 million in urban areas, or 38.1%; and 62.1 million in rural areas, or 61.9%. Regarding gender, males with 50 million accounted for 49.9% and females with 50.3 million accounted for 50.1%.

In the 2023-2024 academic year, Vietnam had 15,298 preschools, and 25,962 primary, secondary, and high schools. The number of students reached 23.3 million, including 4.9 million preschool kids, down 3.5% year-on-year; and 18.4 million in schools, up 1.5%, featuring 8.9 million primary school pupils, 6.5 million secondary school students, and 2.9 million high school students.

For vocational training, Vietnam had 1,886 training facilities in 2023, including 339 colleges, 429 middle-level schools, and 1,058 training centers. In 2023, those establishments recruited 2.3 million people, including 530,000 at college level, while 2.04 million graduated.