The Vietnam labour market bulletin released by the ministry shows continued improvement in employment and wages, although challenges remain in job quality and skills.
The Ministry of Home Affairs forecasts increased labour recruitment in many sectors (Illustration: Thanh Binh).
In the fourth quarter of 2025, the country had 53.8 million workers, of whom 52.7 million were employed, up about 656,000 people compared with the same period a year earlier.
Employment was concentrated mainly in services, which accounted for 40.8 per cent of the workforce, followed by industry and construction at 33.8 per cent, and agriculture, forestry and fisheries at 25.4 per cent. The share of workers holding degrees or professional certificates reached 29.5 per cent.
However, the final quarter of last year still recorded more than 784,000 underemployed people, representing 1.67 per cent of the labour force, an increase of over 19,000 year on year.
The ministry also reported around 1.07 million unemployed individuals nationwide, corresponding to an unemployment rate of 2.22 per cent. In urban areas, the rate stood higher at 2.46 per cent.
More than 178,000 people received unemployment benefit decisions, while about 576,000 received career counselling. Yet only around 41,000 were referred to jobs and more than 6,800 received vocational training support.
Labour experts noted that 61.2 per cent of those applying for unemployment benefits lacked formal qualifications or certificates, while only 19.2 per cent held university degrees or higher, highlighting unemployment risks concentrated among low skilled workers and the need to strengthen training policies linked to unemployment insurance.
A positive sign was the average monthly income of workers, which reached VND 8.7 million (approximately USD 341), up VND 323,000, or about 3.9 per cent, from the previous quarter.
Looking ahead to the first quarter of 2026, the ministry expects employment to increase by roughly 300,000 people, bringing the total number of employed workers to around 53 million.
Demand is projected to grow notably in food processing, expected to expand by 3.1 per cent, and transport equipment manufacturing, forecast to rise by 2.6 per cent. By contrast, employment is likely to decline in tobacco production, chemicals and chemical products, and machinery repair, maintenance and installation.
