According to the Statistics Office, in the second quarter of 2025, employment for workers tended to increase, but the labor market did not develop sustainably as the number of informal workers accounted for a large proportion.
Accordingly, the number of workers with general informal jobs (including workers working in agricultural, forestry and fishery households) in the second quarter of 2025 was 33 million people, accounting for 63.5% of the total number of employed workers. In the first 6 months of 2025, the rate of informal employment was 63.9%, down 1.1 percentage points over the same period last year. Of which, urban areas are 48%; rural areas are 74%; men are 67.2%, and women are 60.1%.
Mr. Le Quang Trung - former Deputy Director in charge of the Department of Employment said that informal labor exists as an indispensable component of a developing country with a large population like Vietnam. Therefore, researching solutions to legalize informal labor is the responsibility of relevant ministries and branches.
According to Mr. Trung, the 2025 Employment Law has been passed and officially took effect from January 1, 2026, creating opportunities to reduce the proportion of informal labor in the employment market. "In particular, lending capital to support employment for some subjects will help create sustainable jobs for workers, reducing the proportion of informal labor. This is also a fundamental factor for the labor market to develop sustainably," said Mr. Trung.
Regarding the content of the 2025 Law on Employment Support Lending for a number of subjects, specifically as follows:
The subjects of loans to support job creation, maintenance and expansion include:
- Small and medium enterprises, cooperatives, cooperative unions, cooperative groups, business households (hereinafter referred to as production and business establishments).
- Workers.
The subjects of workers eligible for loans to support job creation include: Workers in rural areas; young workers; elderly workers.
Informal workers or informal workers are workers who work without signing labor contracts and there are no bonds between employers and employees.
Informal workers are often characterized by unstable jobs, unstable jobs, low income and long working hours. They often do not have labor contracts or do have them but are not covered by social insurance, health insurance, and are not paid for allowances and other social benefits.
