HCMC – More than 1.4 million people of working age in Vietnam were left jobless in 2021 due to the Covid pandemic, up 203,700 people year-on-year, according to data issued by the General Statistics Office at a press briefing in Hanoi City on January 6.
The unemployment rate in 2021 rose by 0.54% year-on-year at 3.22%, the local media reported.
The data also indicated the number of people of working age rose to 50.5 million in 2021, dropping by 791,600 people year-on-year, while the number of people with jobs stood at 49 million, down one million people against 2020.
The Covid pandemic left millions of workers unemployed or furloughed in multiple sectors, according to the General Statistics Office.
The service sector was hit the hardest by the pandemic, with 18.6 million active workers in 2021, down 800,800 laborers year-on-year. The industry and construction sector came second, with 16.3 million laborers, down 254,200 workers against 2020.
The pandemic also caused a shortage of jobs in 2021. Without Covid-19, an additional 1.4 million laborers would have secured a job.
Due to the ongoing fourth wave of the Covid pandemic, the unemployment rate in urban areas reached 4%, higher than that in rural areas, going against the trend of the labor market in the country over the past few years, according to the General Statistics Office.
The data also showed the per capita monthly income of workers reached VND5.7 million in 2021, down VND32,000 against that in 2020.
The average monthly income of workers in urban areas was VND7 million, while that of laborers in rural areas was VND5 million.
