The average salary in Vietnam 2023 increased VND459,000 a month last year, or 6.9%, compared to 2022.
The figure stood at around VND7.1 million ($291.82) by the end of 2023.
Male workers’ average monthly income was VND8.1 million, and female workers’ was VND6 million, according to reports from the General Statistics Office.
In the fourth quarter of 2023 alone, workers’ income reached VND7.3 million, an increase of VND180,000 compared to the third quarter. The quarterly speed of income growth reached 2.5%, nearly twice the 1.4% of the fourth quarter in 2022, when the Covid-19 pandemic ended.
The growth was attributed to the fact that businesses sped up production in the final months of the year, which helped increase workers’ incomes compared to previous periods.
In general, the average income of workers in the fourth quarter of 2023 increased in all economic zones.
The region with the fastest-growing income levels was the Red River Delta, home to Hanoi, with an average monthly income of VND8.7 million, an increase of 3.5%.
The eastern parts of southern Vietnam saw the slowest income growth at only 2.3% compared to 2022, amounting to an average income at VND9 million a month. HCMC in particular saw a 1.9% increase of average income to VND9.4 million.
However, HCMC’s unemployment rate dropped to 2.91% last year as more businesses started gaining orders and expanding production, requiring them to hire thousands of workers.
Around 51.3 million people had jobs across Vietnam last year, an increase of 683,000 people compared to 2022.
Some readers express their happiness of The average salary in Vietnam 2023 increased
Well, it should be noted that productivity has not kept pace with wage growth. According to one Vietnamese economist expert, labour productivity increased by only 3.65%, much lower than the growth rate of 4.8% in 2022. So the wage growth rate in 2023 was nearly twice that of labour productivity growth. More importantly, a majority of Vietnams labour force consists of low-skilled and semi-skilled workers. If wage growth continues to outpace productivity growth, Vietnams primary competitive advantage in cheap labour will diminish steadily until it slips away one day. Foreign businesses will move factories and jobs to countries with lower labour cost, rendering millions of Vietnamese of working age unemployed.
One reader comment
But
Worker expenses surpass income by 50%
An average worker earned VND7.9 million ($333) but spent VND11.7 million per month in the second quarter this year, and many of them had to borrow to cover basic expenses, a survey has found.
The survey conducted by the Institute of Workers and Trade Union polled nearly 3,000 workers in the second quarter in the six localities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, Hai Phong, Phu Tho and An Giang.
Average spending rose 19% year-on-year to VND11.7 million per month due to the rising costs of living. Food accounted for 70% of their spending.
More than 75% of workers said that their income was not enough to cover expenses.
Over 17% of respondents had to borrow frequently and lived in constant fear of debt collectors.
More than half of respondents said that low income affected their decision to get married, and nearly three out of four said the same about having a child.
Nearly half of the respondents had never thought about requesting a raise, and this showed the passiveness of workers in salary negotiation, said Pham Thu Lan, deputy head of the Institute of Workers and Trade Union.
Nguyen Thai Duong, deputy chairman of the Vietnam Textile and Garment Trade Union, said that market prices and costs of living need to be taken into account in upcoming salary negotiations.
Vietnam’s National Wage Council on Wednesday had its first meeting on adjusting the minimum salary for next year. There will be two or three such sessions.
Vietnam’s minimum salary is adjusted every years. Last year, it increased 5.88% to VND4.68 million per month.
The Vietnam General Confederation of Labour said that in the first six months this year over 500,000 workers lost their jobs or saw their work hours reduced, mostly in HCMC, Long An, Tay Ninh and other southern localities.
A total of 75% of them were in foreign direct investment (FDI) companies.
In conclusion:
Although the average salary in Vietnam 2023 increased, the living expenses is also increased rapidly.
So most of workers in Vietnam still living in poor conditions.
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Source: https://e.vnexpress.net/