Vietnam Business & Weather Briefing (Oct 2): Unemployment rate falls, workers’ incomes increase

Business Briefing

Gold rate

SJC gold price is listed at VND 65.4 million/tael (buying) and VND 66.4 million/tael, an increase of VND 200,000/tael compared to yesterday.

Photo: Zing

Workforce news: Unemployment rate falls, workers’ incomes increase

The report on the socio-economic situation in the third quarter and the first nine months of 2022 pointed out that the labor force and the average monthly income of employees increased compared to the previous quarter and the same period last year. Unemployment and underemployment rates decreased. The unemployment rate of working age in the third quarter of 2022 was estimated at 2.28 percent, a decrease of 0.04 percentage points compared to the previous quarter and down 1.70 percentage points over the same period last year.

In the first nine months of 2022, the unemployment rate of working-age workers was 2.35 percent. The unemployment rate in urban areas was 2.88 percent and in rural areas was 2.02 percent. The labor force aged 15 and over was 51.6 million, an increase of 1.2 million people compared to last year. The labor force participation rate was estimated at 68.5 percent, up 0.9 percentage points over the same period the previous year.

Employed laborers aged 15 and over in the third quarter of 2022 were around 50.8 million people. This includes 14 million people working in the agriculture, forestry, and fishery sectors, accounting for 27.6 percent of the total. The industry and construction sector had 17 million people, equivalent to 33.4 percent. The service sector, with 19.8 million people, accounted for 39 percent. The underemployment rate of aged workers in the third quarter of 2022 was 1.92 percent, down 0.04 percentage points compared to the previous quarter and down 2.54 percentage points over the same period last year.

In the first nine months of this year, the underemployment rate of working-age workers was estimated at 2.29 percent, of which the underemployment rate in urban areas was 1.75 percent; the underemployment rate in rural areas was 2.63 percent. The average monthly income of salaried employees in the third quarter of 2022 was VND7.6 million/month, an increase of VND126,000 compared to the previous quarter and VND1.6 million higher than the same period last year. The income of male workers was VND8 million/month, and female employees are VND7 million/month.

Generally, for the first nine months of 2022, the average monthly income of salaried employees is estimated at VND7.5 million/month, an increase of VND805,000 compared to the same period last year.

Photo: Zing

Investment news: Binh Duong lures foreign investors with special care

Thousands of workers of Yazaki EDS Vietnam, which manufactures car parts in Di An City, are now very busy fulfilling orders. Yazaki EDS struggled to survive the pandemic. When the first Covid-19 cases were discovered at its factory on July 7, 2021, it had to suspend operation immediately.

To keep production uninterrupted, Yazaki applied the ‘three on-site’ model for three months, with resources equal to 20 percent of its current capacity. At that time, it operated modestly to ensure delivery to partners. Besides paying higher production costs under the conditions of lockdown, it also had to pay many other expenses to ensure production, including salaries for 11,000 workers within three months, though they were not working.

When Vietnam began returning to its new normal, Yazaki resumed production quickly. With many orders coming, it has had to recruit 1,000 more workers. Sang Ban Mai JSC, which manufactures electricity generators in Ben Cat town of Binh Duong province, also suffered from the pandemic. According to CEO Tran Thanh Trong, the company also operated under the ‘three on-site’ model for three months. Affected by the pandemic, its revenue and profit in 2021 dropped by 30 percent.

In early 2022 the company began recovering production to fulfill the orders of 2021. As of August 2022, its revenue increased by 10 percent year on year. In January-May 2022, Binh Duong obtained essential achievements in socio-economic development, with registered domestic investment capital of VND30.997 trillion and a registered FDI of $2.5 billion, turning it into the top FDI attractor in the country. Lego and Pandora are among its investors.

To date, Binh Duong has 4,000 valid foreign-invested projects totaling over $38 billion and 29 industrial zones (IZs) totaling 13,000ha. The increased FDI and expansion of IZs have given Binh Duong opportunities for socio-economic development and made it the favorite destination of migrant workers. Binh Duong chair Vo Van Minh said the province pursued the government policy of fighting the pandemic and maintaining production in a safe and effective manner.

Photo: Zing

Weather Forecast

October 3: The North and Central regions continue to have heavy rains, leading to the risk of flooding, flash floods, and landslides. Due to the impact of weak cold air today and tonight, the midland, delta, northern coastal areas in the central region will have moderate rain.