Unemployment rises in Q1 as manufacturing orders fall

By Hong Chieu April 8, 2023 | 04:00 pm PT

A person reads job recruitment posts in Hanoi. Photo by VnExpress/Hong Chieu

Some 149,000 workers lost their jobs in the last quarter due to declining orders, 13% more than in the previous quarter, according to the General Statistics Office.

The highest numbers were reported in industrial provinces such as Dong Nai (32,600), Binh Duong (21,700), Bac Ninh (14,000), and Bac Giang (7,700).

Another 294,000 workers were furloughed, down 0.67%. The majority of them, 83.8%, were in foreign-owned companies in the footwear, garment and wood processing sectors.

The Mekong Delta region was most affected by the fall in orders, reporting an unemployment rate of 1.75% in the first quarter, up from 1.5%.

Workers in Ho Chi Minh City saw their income declining by 1.4% to VND9.1 million, and in Binh Phuoc by 2.8% to VND6.8 million.

In Bac Giang the number of employed people was down 4.5% and Bac Ninh 0.9%.

The General Statistics Office said there is a need to train human resources to ensure employment.

More supportive policies are required to help businesses lacking resources amid rising input costs prices recover, especially in the footwear, garment and electronics industries, it added.