(photo: Internet)According to the General Statistics Office, in the third quarter of 2021 alone, more than 28.2 million people aged 15 and over were negatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in various forms of job losses, furloughs, alternate working shifts, reduced working hours, reduced income, etc.

Compared to the previous quarter, the number of workers adversely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in the third quarter increased by 15.4 million people. Most of the affected people are of working age, from 25 to 54 years old, accounting for 73.3% of the total affected workers.

Out of a total of more than 28.2 million people negatively impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, 4.7 million people lost their jobs, accounting for 16.5%; 14.7 million people had to suspend production and business operations, accounting for 51.1%; 12.0 million people had their working hours cut, got furloughed or were forced to work on rotational shifts, accounting for 42.7%; and 18.9 million workers had their income reduced, accounting for 67.2%.

Southeast and Mekong River Delta are the two regions that have been hit the hardest. The number of workers in these two regions who reported to have had their jobs negatively impacted by the pandemic accounted for the highest proportion, at 59.1% and 44.7%, respectively.

These figures are much lower in the Northern Midlands and Mountains and the Central Highlands, at 17.4% and 19.7%, respectively.

Workers in urban areas suffer more damage than in rural areas. 46.2% of workers in urban areas are adversely affected by Covid-19 pandemic, while this figure in rural areas is 32.4%.

The complicated development of the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a serious decrease in the number of people participating in the labour force. The labour force participation rate was at the lowest level in the past 10 years.

The fourth wave of Covid-19 pandemic was complicated and lasted for 3 months in the third quarter of 2021, leaving millions of people without jobs.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Vietnam has experienced four outbreaks, the first and fourth of which have had the most impact on the labour market. The fourth prolonged and complicated wave of pandemic has rendered many businesses no longer able to withstand the impact and leave the market, and tens of thousands of workers return to their home provinces due to job losses.

The number of employed workers in the third quarter of 2021 continued to fall to an unprecedented depth, down by nearly 2.6 million people relative to the previous quarter and by 2.7 million people relative to the same period last year. The number of employed workers in the third quarter was 47.2 million, down to the lowest level in many years.

In the third quarter of 2021, most economic sectors recorded a decrease in the average earnings of workers relative to the previous quarter.

The General Statistics Office concludes that,  the fourth outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has put heavy pressure on all facets of the Vietnamese economy in general and the labour market in particular. This fact poses great challenges for the Government in its efforts to achieve the growth targets for 2021.

In the light of this situation, the General Statistics Office would like to propose a number of solutions to remove difficulties for the labour market in the context of the ongoing and unpredictable developments of the Covid-19 pandemic, as follows:

– Strictly implement applicable measures to bring Covid-19 under control, especially in big cities and provinces with many industrial parks. Strengthen the vaccination strategy by availing of all possible resources to ensure sufficient Covid-19 vaccination for the people towards a community immunity mechanism as soon as possible.

– Implement effectively the relief support packages for businesses and workers to recover from the pandemic; develop and implement programmes and policies that encourage workers, especially young people, to actively and promptly study and upgrade their qualifications and acquire necessary skills in response to the growing requirements of business and production recovery of the economy.

– The Government should formulate policies that encourage provinces to set up official and specialized information channels to update businesses and workers on strategies for economic development, policies for supporting and attracting workers, and local testing and outbreak control plans so that they can take initiative to formulate their own plans for production recovery and development./.