On October 6, the General Statistics Office (under the Ministry of Planning and Investment) released data on the labour and employment situation for the third quarter and the first nine months of 2024.
Additional 114,100 workers join the labour force
According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), the labour force aged 15 and over in the third quarter of 2024 was 52.7 million, an increase of 114,100 people from the previous quarter and 238,800 people from the same period last year. Compared to the previous quarter, the urban labour force increased by 160,500, while the rural labour force decreased by 46,400.
Overall, in the first nine months of 2024, the labour force aged 15 reached over 52.5 million, an increase of about 200,000 from last year. The urban labour force totalled over 20.2 million, representing 38.5% of the country’s workforce, and the female labour force reached nearly 24.6 million, accounting for 46.8%.
The labour force participation rate in the third quarter of 2024 was 68.5%, down 0.4 percentage points from last year.
Women’s labour force participation rate was 62.5%, while for men, it was 74.7%. Urban labour force participation stood at 66.5%, 3.3 percentage points lower than in rural areas.
The number of employed workers in the third quarter of 2024 increased compared to the previous quarter and the same period last year, with most of the increase in the service sector.
The number of employed workers in Q3 2024 was over 51.6 million, an increase of 114,600 (or 0.22%) compared to the previous quarter and up 244,600 (or 0.48%) compared to the same period last year. Of these, 20 million workers (38.7%) were employed in urban areas, an increase of 233,800 from the previous quarter and 884,900 from the same period last year. In rural areas, 31.6 million workers were employed, a decrease of 119,100 from the previous quarter and 640,200 from the same period last year.
Overall, for the first nine months of 2024, employment reached 51.4 million, an increase of 212,000 (or 0.41%) compared to last year.
Average income of 7.6 million VND per month
Data from the General Statistics Office shows that the average monthly income of workers in Q3 2024 was 7.6 million VND, an increase of 176,000 VND compared to the previous quarter and 519,000 VND compared to the same period last year.
Male workers earn 1.34 times more than female workers (8.7 million VND compared to 6.5 million VND). Urban workers’ average income is 1.4 times higher than rural workers’ (9.3 million VND compared to 6.6 million VND).
Compared to the previous quarter, the average income growth rate in Q3 2024 was modest at 2.4%, slightly higher than the 2.1% growth in Q3 2023.
In the Red River Delta, the average monthly income in Q3 2024 was 9.1 million VND, a 5.8% increase compared to the previous quarter, which was higher than the 3.3% increase in Q3 2023.
In some provinces within this region, there was significant income growth: in Hanoi, the average income was 10.7 million VND, a 6.6% increase (or 659,000 VND), and in Nam Dinh, it was 7.6 million VND, a 5.7% increase (or 406,000 VND).
The northern midlands and mountainous regions experienced a lower income growth rate, with an average monthly income of 5.6 million VND, up by 0.82% (or 45,000 VND) compared to the previous quarter. Some provinces saw a decline in average monthly income, such as Son La (3.6 million VND, down by 7.8% or 305,000 VND), Lang Son (5.8 million VND, down by 4.9% or 298,000 VND), and Cao Bang (3.2 million VND, down by 3.5% or 114,000 VND).
Salaried workers’ average monthly income in the first nine months of 2024 was 8.5 million VND, up 7.7%, equivalent to an increase of 611,000 VND compared to last year.
The average income of male workers was 1.13 times higher than female workers (9.0 million VND compared to 7.9 million VND). Workers in urban areas had an average income of 9.5 million VND, 1.25 times higher than those in rural areas (7.7 million VND).
