According to the announcement of the Directorate of Statistics, the labor force aged 15 and over nationwide in the third quarter of 2024 is estimated at 52.7 million people, an increase of 114.1 thousand people compared to the previous quarter and an increase of 238.8 thousand people compared to the same period last year.
In the first 9 months of 2024, the labor force aged 15 and over was 52.5 million people, an increase of 210.6 thousand people over the same period last year; the labor force participation rate was 68.5%. The employed labor force was 51.5 million people, an increase of 212 thousand people over the same period last year.
According to Mr. Pham Hoai Nam - Director of the Department of Population and Labor Statistics (Directorate Statistics), the number of employed workers tends to increase but the labor market development is not sustainable when the number of workers with informal jobs accounts for a large proportion.
The total number of workers with informal jobs (including workers in agricultural, forestry and fishery households) in the third quarter of 2024 was 33 million people, accounting for 63.9% of the total number of employed workers and decreased by 1.3% compared to the previous quarter and decreased by 1.1% compared to the same period last year.In the first 9 months, the rate of workers with informal jobs was 64.6%, down 0.3% compared to the same period last year.
The number of unemployed people of working age in the third quarter of 2024 was 861.4 thousand people, a decrease of 86.7 thousand people compared to the previous quarter and a decrease of 79.5 thousand people compared to the same period last year.
The underemployment rate of working-age laborers in the third quarter was 1.87%, down 0.19% from the previous quarter and the same period last year. In the first 9 months, the number of underemployed people of working age was 914,100, down 8.300 compared to the same period last year; the underemployment rate of working-age laborers was 1.99%, down 0.03% compared to the same period last year.
The average income of workers in the third quarter of 2024 was VND 7.6 million/month, an increase of VND 176,000 compared to the previous quarter and an increase of VND 519,000 compared to the same period last year. Of which, the average income of male workers was VND 8.7 million/month, female workers was VND 6.5 million/month; the average income of workers in urban areas was VND 9.3 million/month, in rural areas was VND 6.6 million/month.
According to Mr. Pham Hoai Nam, the current labor market still has many shortcomings and limitations, failing to meet the labor needs of a modern, flexible, sustainable and integrated labor market. To date, there are about 37.6 million workers who have not received primary or higher training (the whole country only has about 28.5% of workers who have been trained and have certificates).
The unemployment rate for young people aged 15-24 in the third quarter of 2024 was 7.75%, lower than the global average but still high. The number of employed workers tends to increase, but the labor market is not yet sustainable as the number of informal workers doing precarious and unstable jobs still accounts for a large proportion.
