Ms. Nguyen Thi Tu, 37 years old, used to be a worker at a printing workshop in the craft village cluster of Thanh Liet ward (Hanoi). Ms. Tu is from Nam Dinh ward (Ninh Binh), a single mother raising a young child in grade 2.
In April 2025, Ms. Tu lost her job because the company went bankrupt. From May 2025, she began receiving unemployment benefits, at the rate of 3.3 million VND/month.
With a total income of nearly 10 million VND/month, receiving unemployment benefits of only 1/3, Ms. Tu is both worried and frustrated because of the pressure to earn more money to cover rent, food, school fees for her children...
"I almost have no savings because I have to worry about all the expenses for my salary and children. When I lost my job, I knew that the unemployment benefits were not high, but in the first month of receiving the benefits, holding 3.3 million VND in hand, I sweated because I was scared and worried. Immediately after that, to have money to cover expenses, I worked as an hourly cleaning for an apartment near a rented house, worked as a motorbike laundry employee for a car wash shop, and worked 3 nights a week for a billiards shop, Ms. Tu said.
Working around many tasks at the same time, taking care of everyone who calls to move the house, Ms. Tu is almost exhausted. However, before finding a new job, she admitted, "we have to try, there is no other choice. If I don't work, I won't have money, so I have to fight back to my hometown."
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Binh (from Vu Thu commune, Hung Yen province) is also struggling because unemployment benefits are not enough to cover minimum living expenses. Mr. Binh is a worker in Hoang Mai ward (Hanoi). In 2024, he got married, and the couple rented a room in Vinh Tuy ward. In early 2025, Mr. Binh's wife gave birth, which was also the time when he lost his job because the company lacked orders.
At first, Mr. Binh stayed at home to take care of his wife and children. With an unemployment benefit of VND4.2 million/month, he and his wife contribute to cover expenses. However, the couple only lasted about 2 months, then everything gradually turned around.
Before giving birth, we had saved some money, but when my wife took a break from giving birth, I lost my job... raised a small child, and had to spend dozens of expenses, the savings were soaring. With no other choice, my wife accepts taking care of the child alone, I drive a motorbike taxi to earn more income," said Mr. Binh.
Currently, Mr. Binh's wife has returned to work after 6 months of maternity leave. Due to lack of support from relatives, Mr. Binh accepted to stay at home to look after his children during the day, and in the evening when his wife came home from work, he took to the streets to drive a motorbike taxi until about 24 hours at night to return home.
My wife and I asked for the price and calculated that if we hired someone to come come look after our child from 7am to 5pm, the price was about 7 million VND/month; if we took our child to someone near the boarding house, they would take care of about 5 children, we would prepare food for them, the price was about 4 million VND/month. In short, if I rent, I will almost lose 1 salary. With enough balance, we decided to take turns going to work and taking care of our child as at present, said Mr. Binh.
Talking to Lao Dong, Mr. Bui Sy Loi - former Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs (now the Social Committee) - said that the current unemployment benefits are too low.
The maximum monthly unemployment benefit level based on 5 times the regional minimum wage is too low. The authorities should study adjusting this subsidy level to increase the beneficiary level, so that workers can live enough when they lose their jobs or are in trouble," said Mr. Loi.
By the end of 2024, the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UI) had a surplus of more than 64,300 billion VND, an average increase of 3% for the period 2022-2024. There are about 16 million workers participating in unemployment insurance and it is estimated to increase to 18.8 million people by 2027.
Mr. Loi cited that the fund is abundant, the management unit can build a support package for workers. "Support packages must closely follow the actual situation, be flexible, and cover a wide range of subjects so that this policy is truly humane and truly a "support" for the labor market," Mr. Loi emphasized.
