Vu Thi Thu Thuy, head of the Population and Labour Statistics Department, under the General Statistics Office of Viet Nam said at a meeting held on April 24 in Ha Noi that the situation of labour and employment in the first four months of this year was badly affected by many factors.

The major factors include the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in management policies of natural disasters.

Thus, the effective disbursement of the Government’s bailout packages for both enterprises and labourers was very necessary now to revive the national economy in general, as well as the labour market and enterprises in particular, she said.

The meeting was organised to release information on the real situation of labour and employment in the first quarter of this year.

Under the labour and employment survey for this year’s first quarter, the ratio of people participating in the labour force recorded the lowest level over the past 10 years, with 75.4 per cent of people of working age, about 1.2-1.3 per cent lower than the previous quarter and the same period last year.

The ratio of unemployment among working-age labourers was at the highest level for the past five years, the survey said.

The growth rate of labourers’ income was less than half of the income growth rate in the first quarter of last year.

The number of employed labourers decreased compared to the previous quarter and the same period last year, especially in rural areas, the survey said.

The ratio of youngsters, who do not go to school and do not go to work, also increased, the survey said.

The survey also pointed out that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide not only caused a health crisis but also led to a serious crisis for the economy and labour market globally.

In Viet Nam, the outbreak of COVID-19, which occurred at the end of January, had a major impact on the production, business and employment situation, resulting in decreased number of labourers participating in the labour market and an increase in unemployment.

Low-income, without-official-labour-contract, young and aging workers are listed in the most vulnerable group, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the survey, nearly 5 million labourers were affected by the pandemic and about 84.8 per cent of enterprises said they faced numerous difficulties due to the pandemic.

And the difficulties for both enterprises and labourers were forecast to continue in the future, the survey said./.