Workers’ average income in Vietnam increases across most regions

A Q1 labor and employment report from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) showed that the average monthly income of workers increased from the previous quarter and rose across most regions and economic sectors.

During January-March, the income reached VND8.3 million (over $321), rising by 1.6% against Q4/2024, and 9.5% against the same time last year.

Workers in urban areas got VND10.1 million on average in the three-month span, 1.39 times higher than rural areas.

Across all socio-economic regions, workers’ incomes showed robust growth in Q1 compared to the same period last year. The north-central and central coastal regions saw average monthly income rise by 11.7% year-on-year to VND7.3 million, while the Red River Delta posted average worker earnings of VND9.8 million, up 9.5%.

Compared to the same period of 2024, the average monthly income of workers in Q1 increased across all three economic sectors. The agro-forestry-fishery sector had the highest growth rate of 9.8% to reach VND4.9 million.

Meanwhile, the service and industry-construction sectors recoded a growth of 9.2% and 8.2% to VND 9.9 million and VND 9.1 million, respectively.

The GSO, under the Ministry of Finance, also reported that by the end of Q1, the employed workforce nationwide reached 51.9 million people, a decrease of 0.4% against the previous quarter but a rise of 1.04% year-on-year. Of this total, 20 million got employment in urban areas while the figure in rural areas was 31.8 million.

Deputy director of the GSO’s Population and Labour Statistics Department Nguyen Huy Minh noted that although Vietnam's labor productivity has improved significantly in recent years due to the shift of workers from the agro-forestry-fishery sector to the industry, construction, and service sectors, the current level remains very low compared to other countries in the region.