Average workers’ monthly income reaches $336

This marked an increase of nearly VND578,000 ($24.60), or 8%, compared to the same period in 2022, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment in a report to the National Economic Committee on Friday.

The ministry said the recovery of employment in the first three months had been positive.

The unemployment rate is about 2.25%, down 0.07 percentage points compared to the previous quarter.

The nationwide online job exchange has been piloted for the first time, supporting people who have lost their jobs or been given reduced working hours.

According to a report by the General Statistics Office (GSO), the average monthly income of men was 1.3 times higher than for women. The income level of workers in urban areas is more than 1.4 times higher than those in rural areas.

The GSO also said that income growth was uneven across economic sectors.

Last year, the National Assembly failed to meet two of its targets: the growth rate for the size of the manufacturing industry, and that for labor productivity.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment explained that production, business and investment activities faced difficulties in the fourth quarter of last year. Gasoline, raw materials and input materials prices fluctuated strongly.

In addition, exports faced challenges when demand from large traditional markets declined. Meanwhile, the internal capacity and autonomy of the economy still depend heavily on imported materials. These factors created great pressure on the growth of the processing and manufacturing industry.

In the first three months of this year, the processing and manufacturing sector declined by 2.4% in production. Some key processing industries, such as textiles, leather and footwear, electronic products and computers, reduced production by 2-8%.

According to a GSO survey, in the first quarter, about 39% of manufacturing enterprises saw reduced production orders compared to the same period last year. Orders for textiles, footwear, and wood furniture decreased by 15-20%. Seafood exports dropped more than 20%.