At the press conference (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – TheCOVID-19 pandemic has dealt a heavy blow on the Vietnamese labour market, with69.2 percent of labourers receiving less income than before pandemic, heard apress conference held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s GeneralStatistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) on January 6.
Deputy head of the GSO PhamQuang Vinh said a total of 32.1 million workers aging 15 and above wereaffected by the adverse impact of the pandemic in 2020.
Of the total, 39.9 percent sufferedcuts to working hours or were put on temporary rotational leave, while 14percent lost their jobs or were furloughed.
The service sector was the most heavily impacted, with 71.6 percent of its workersaffected, followed by the industrial and construction sector with 64.7 percent.Meanwhile, the agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector fared better withonly 26.4 percent of the workforce impacted.
Vinh said the labour market in Quarter 4 improved from the previous quarters,with higher income and lower unemployment rate in urban areas but still at thehighest for the same period of the past decade.
According to Deputy Director of the International Labour Organisation inVietnam Valentina Barcucci, the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic hasaffected employment and natural disasters worsened the situation.
However, she said, there are many reasons to be optimistic about jobs thanks toeconomic recovery.
Head of the GSO’s population and labour statistics department Vu Thi Thu Thuysaid nearly 1.2 million people faced unemployment in 2020, up 277,800 ascompared to 2019.
The average monthly income in 2020 reached 5.5 million VND (239.1 USD), 128,000VND lower than last year.
The average income of workers in urban areas was 1.5 times higher than that inrural areas (7 million VND and 4.7 million VND, respectively).
Wage rate for men is 1.4 times higher than for female employees (6.4 millionVND and 4.5 million VND, respectively)./.
VNA
