7.8 million Vietnamese workers' jobs affected by Covid-19

Up to 1.4 million lost their jobs, mostly in the processing, retail, logistics, and hospitality sectors, according to data released on Monday by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Some major companies have announced plans for more layoffs. Taiwanese footwear maker Pouyuen Vietnam, the largest employer in Ho Chi Minh City, let 2,786 workers go as the Covid-19 pandemic hits new orders.

Another city footwear company, Hue Phong Footwear Jsc, cut its workforce of 4,600 by half. Woodworth Wooden Industries Vietnam also laid off 2,000 workers.

In the first six months the number of people receiving unemployment benefits in the country rose by 32 percent year-on-year to 565,000. The government has paid VND7 trillion ($300 million) in benefits, a 40 percent increase.

Some 540,000 people found jobs through the government employment agencies, down 23.9 percent.

The number of jobs fell 28 percent in June in Ho Chi Minh City and 23 percent in Hanoi.

The economy has been majorly impacted as supply chains are disrupted, unemployment rises and businesses see revenues plummet amid measures imposed to curb the spread of the virus.

The number of businesses temporarily suspending operations was 29,200 in the first half of the year, up 38.2 percent.

GDP growth was 1.81 percent in H1, the lowest in a decade. Last year growth had been 7.02 percent, the second highest figure in the last decade, after a record 7.08 percent in 2018.