Precarious work
At the age of 49, after the garment company narrowed its scale and laid off redundant personnel, Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa (from Phu Tho, currently residing in Thanh Liet ward, Hanoi) fell into unemployment in mid-2025.
Applying for jobs everywhere but not being accepted, Ms. Hoa started working at a private workshop processing gypsum and copper in Thuong Phuc commune (Hanoi).
At my age, without qualifications, without degrees, applying to work as a full-time worker in companies is almost impossible. I do this job, get lunch included, minus rent and living expenses, each month I still send home about 6 million VND, taking care of my children's education. I am only most afraid when I am sick. Freelance work without contract, taking a day off costs money that day. If you go to the hospital, it is very stressful because there is no insurance" - Ms. Hoa said.
Not only female workers, men in their 50s in the informal sector also face heavy pressure.
Mr. Tran Van Hung (52 years old, from Thai Nguyen) has been a freelance construction worker and iron cutter at small civil works in Hanoi for more than 10 years.
“Health at the age of over 50 has clearly declined, no longer as flexible as before, so contractors are also reluctant to hire. In recent years, my job has been precarious, sometimes working 20 jobs a month, sometimes in rainy and windy months staying in rented rooms for many days. We are freelancers, so we know how to do it, we don't have accident insurance or any benefits. The biggest worry now is that if we are old and weak and no one hires us anymore, what will we live on, and it will become a burden for our children” - Mr. Hung shared.
Double risk
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong - former Director of the Institute of Labor Science and Social Affairs - said that middle-aged workers face many barriers to joining the formal sector, from age, skills, and professional qualifications.
Currently, most workers in this group do jobs such as street vendors, home processing, restaurant assistants, motorbike taxi drivers or freelance builders. The job does not have a labor contract, is not compulsory social insurance and lacks labor safety. Especially for middle-aged female workers, they also face heavy pressure when they have to both struggle to earn a living and shoulder the responsibility of taking care of elderly parents and raising children to study.
To support middle-aged workers, especially female workers, to transform sustainable livelihoods and minimize social security risks, Ms. Lan Huong proposed a series of synchronous solutions.
Design retraining programs suitable for age. Need to change vocational training thinking for middle-aged workers. Instead of professions that require high physical strength or complex technology, focus on practical skills such as: Household business management, professional elderly/child care techniques, safe food processing, or sales skills through basic digital platforms.
Support access to preferential loans to create jobs for themselves. The Vietnam Bank for Social Policies and women's support funds need to expand preferential credit packages with simple procedures, helping middle-aged workers have capital to open small shops, farm or develop household economies, proactively creating stable income in their hometowns or places of residence.
Improve voluntary social insurance (BHXH) policies that take into account gender factors and are more flexible. It is possible to design short-term insurance packages (with sickness, maternity, and risk allowance regimes) instead of just pensions and death benefits as at present. At the same time, the State needs to increase the level of voluntary social insurance contribution support for informal sector workers, especially middle-aged and vulnerable women, helping them accumulate time to have the opportunity to receive pensions when they are old.
