Countries throughout the world are currently engaged in various contributory and non-contributory schemes to protect unemployed workers. With the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)1 undergoing an economic integration as of 2015, the need to reinforce social security and establish social protection floors across the region has gained more significance. With the adoption of an ASEAN Declaration on Strengthening Social Protection in October 2013 in Brunei Darussalam, the leaders of the ten ASEAN Member States reaffirmed their commitment to build a socially responsible, people-oriented ASEAN community by 2015. During an ILO-ASEAN seminar on unemployment insurance, income security and active labour market policies (in Ho Chi Minh City in March 2012), ASEAN governments and social partners acknowledged that unemployment benefits as well as other social protection measures for unemployed or working poor persons should be an integral component of development efforts to ensure that progress in poverty reduction is not reversed in times of crises.

In the afternoon of July 10th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Chairman of the National Committee on Digital Transformation, chaired the 9th meeting of the Committee and the Working Group to implement the Government's Project 06, summarizing the first 6 months of the year for implementation of national digital transformation and Project 06.

Payment of monthly pensions and social insurance benefits via personal accounts brings about many benefits. For beneficiaries, it is guaranteed to be quick, safe, and convenient. For social insurance offices: Save management costs, time, implementation progress, improve the quality of beneficiary management, and ensure strictness.

To continue promoting the implementation of this payment, in the coming time, Vietnam Social Security proposes and recommends that the Prime Minister shall direct ministries, branches and localities to continue improving the quality of coordination with the VSS industry in organizing and performing tasks, especially promoting non-cash payments, paying pensions and monthly social insurance benefits via personal accounts for beneficiaries, ensuring strictness, safety, timely. The Prime Minister directed the State Bank and commercial banking system to pay attention to upgrade facilities and strengthen the network of cash withdrawal places so that beneficiaries can conveniently access bank services; Upgrade technology systems and payment methods to ensure quick and safe money transfers, creating favorable and easy conditions for beneficiaries to access services.

In fact, 74% of beneficiaries receive social and unemployment insurance benefits via personal accounts in urban areas.

Unemployment insurance policy has been regarded as an important tool to administer the labor market, aiming to build a competitive, high-quality one that operates in a transparent and effective manner. In order to properly perform this role in Vietnam at present, unemployment insurance policy should be instituted in the general socio-economic development program as well as social, insurance, labor and wage policies, thereby materializing the undertaking that nobody will be left behind in the course of building a prosperous and happy society.
On June 23, 1994, the Labor Code was passed at the fifth session of the 9th National Assembly and took effect on January 1, 1995, marking an important turning point in regulating industrial relations in Vietnam. The Code was later revised in 2002, 2006 and 2007, and added with different provisions on benefits and supports for laborers in all economic sectors who lost their jobs or were sacked. Unemployment and unemployment insurance were recognized and affirmed in various documents of the CPV and institutionalized into various policies suitable to each period. Article 140 of the 1994 Labor Code (revised in 2002) provided for the first time unemployment insurance. To meet the urgent need for support policies for employees in the socialist-oriented market economy, which has developed more dynamically and flexibly in the country, on June 29, 2006, the National Assembly passed the Social Insurance Law with provisions on unemployment insurance policy taking effect on January 1, 2009. Under the Law, the Unemployment Insurance Fund was set up on the basis of contributions of employees and employers; funding from the central budget; profits from the fund’s investment activities, and other lawful sources. After more than four years of implementation, the unemployment insurance provisions of the Social Insurance Law were revised and incorporated in the Employment Law passed by the National Assembly on November 16, 2013, with effect on January 1, 2015. The Unemployment Insurance Fund is used for payment of severance allowance, support for vocational training to improve professional qualifications and skills of employees; job training; job counseling and recommendation; payment of health insurance for unemployment insurance beneficiaries; investment for fund preservation and growth; and payment of expenses for unemployment insurance management. So, unemployment insurance is not only important for employees and enterprises but also plays a role in ensuring socio-economic stability and serving as a tool to materialize the social security policy of the country and to manage the labor market.

The number of unemployment insurance participants quickly rose.
Unemployment allowances are paid to job losers who have participated in the unemployment insurance for full 12 months or over, at the level equal to 60 percent of the average of last six months’ wages for at least three months.

In addition to unemployment allowances, employees are also provided with free employment counseling and recommendation suitable to their professional qualifications and skills. Employees enjoying unemployment allowances and wishing to learn jobs will receive job learning assistance through vocational education institutions but not directly provided with cash payments in order to ensure the materialization of this policy and their early return to the labor market. The job learning support level is equal to the short-term job learning expense level set by the vocational education law. The number of people provided with job-learning support tends to rise from year to year, especially after the Employment Law took effect. 
Unemployment insurance constitutes an important social policy in the social security system, which contributes to the achievement of social progress and justice as well as sustainable national development. It serves as an important instrument of the labor market policy. It not only secures the partial compensation for job losers’ incomes but also actively supports the job retraining and recommendation for laborers to early return to the labor market. Meanwhile, employers are given various incentives to receive and retain employees as long as possible, particularly disadvantaged ones.