HCMC – The Mekong Delta region has the highest unemployment rate in the country, according to a recent report by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).
Conducted over the course of a year by VCCI in collaboration with the Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management and released on December 12, the annual report showed the Mekong Delta’s economic resurgence in 2022, followed by a significant slowdown in 2023. Despite this recovery, the region consistently has the highest jobless rate in the nation, resulting in lower average incomes than the national average.
While presenting the findings of a survey, Vu Thanh Tu Anh, director of the Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management at Fulbright University Vietnam, emphasized the role of migration patterns triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic. While workers returned to the delta at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, a reverse migration occurred in 2022 as individuals sought employment opportunities in other regions.
The report shed light on the Mekong Delta’s economic regression, despite its substantial potential. Two decades ago, the delta contributed around 16% to the country’s GDP, but that figure has now declined to 12%. The region’s Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) is around three-quarters of HCMC’s GRDP, raising concerns about the delta’s position in the country’s development.
