Ms. Truong Ha Chi, 30 years old, from Thanh Liem district (Ha Nam) is currently working as a worker at a livestock feed production company in Dong Anh district (Hanoi). Coming to Hanoi to work as a worker right after graduating from high school, Ms. Chi has been away from home for 12 years.
According to Ms. Chi, the company is currently her second workplace since she moved to Hanoi.
When I first moved to Hanoi, my relatives introduced me to work at a leather shoe company. After working for a year, I took a leave of absence because I could not get used to the smell of plastic and glue, and every day I came home from work I was tired and lethargic. My current company has been with me for more than 10 years, and I am one of the few groups of employees who have worked here for more than ten years, said Ms. Chi.
According to Ms. Chi, her total income is currently over 9 million VND/month, if she has a lot of overtime, she can earn 11 million VND/month. She rented a house with a female colleague. Including electricity and water bills, female workers spend about 1.5 million VND per month. The company takes care of her lunch and dinner, she and her friends rent a house to cook for themselves, the cost is about 1 million VND/person per month.
"Many people calculate an income of tens of millions, renting a house with less than 3 million VND for food and drink, so they will save a lot, but not everyone understands our difficulties," Ms. Chi sighed.
Ms. Chi said that every month she sends her mother 2 million VND to her hometown to buy medicine because her mother has been chronicly ill for many years. She fixed 2 million VND/month to her younger sister studying at the University of Commerce. The remaining amount she saves for her room when there are unexpected things, illnesses... "Even if I save a lot of money each year, I only save about 20 million VND. It is difficult to spend this amount of money to buy a motorbike, let alone plan a large one. I just hope to save a little bit, go back to my hometown to open a grocery store or patchwork to take care of my mother. My father passed away a long time ago, and my mother is sick all alone..., Ms. Chi shared.
Due to her limited income and family burden, even at the age of 30, Ms. Chi has not thought about getting married. The female worker said that there were male colleagues who also researched her, but when they learned about her family background, many people were shy. She herself is not confident when starting a relationship with a salary just to take care of her own life.
Also afraid of getting married like Ms. Chi, Mr. Nguyen Cong Minh, 29 years old, a worker at a shoe manufacturing company in Yen Nghia Industrial Park (Ha Dong, Hanoi) is still single.
Mr. Minh said that his current salary is about 9 million VND/month. In particular, the rent, electricity, water and food costs account for more than half of his salary. Not to mention, a single young man like him also has an extra fee for going out to eat, entertain on weekends with friends...
I almost receive a monthly salary at the end of the month, every month when I get sick, I have to see a doctor, buy medicine, or have many weddings, anniversaries... to borrow from friends, and have a salary to pay. Thinking that sweating would run out of money, I was very afraid of being in love and getting married. Even when I look at the money friends spend each month to raise a small child, I feel even more hesitant because I understand that workers only want to marry female workers. If the couple had the same income and raised young children, it would be a burden. Not to mention, it's okay for me to rent a temporary house as a single person, if I have a wife and a child, I have to rent a house with better conditions, so sometimes my salary for the couple is not enough to live on," said Mr. Minh.
The results of the investigation and survey of the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor (March - April 2025) with nearly 3,000 workers in 10 provinces and centrally run cities show that 12.5% of workers have to borrow money monthly to stabilize their lives; 29.9% of workers have to borrow money occasionally (3-4 months/time). Only 55.5% of the surveyed workers are likely to eat meat and fish for all main meals (excluding shift meals at the enterprise).
72.5% of married workers said that their current salary and income affect their decision to have additional children; 72.6% of the total number of unmarried people know that salary is the main reason affecting their decision to start a family.
