- Vietnam’s labor force reached the highest quarterly level since 2019: According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), Vietnam’s total labor force increased by 114,100 people QoQ (+0.2% QoQ) and 238,800 people YoY (+0.5% YoY) to 52.65 million in Q3 2024. However, the labor force participation rate slid to 68.5% (-6 bps QoQ & -37 bps YoY) (Figures 1 & 2).

- Rising employment in the services sector was the main growth driver for total employment: In Q3 2024, total employment added 114,600 jobs QoQ to 51.6 million jobs (+244,600 jobs YoY). Of the total employment, employment in the services sector continued growing by around 103,400 jobs QoQ to 20.9 million (+451,200 jobs YoY). In addition, employment in the industry & construction sector increased by 24,000 jobs QoQ to 17.0 million (-52,000 jobs YoY), while employment in the agriculture, forestry & fishery sector declined by around 12,800 jobs QoQ to 13.7 million (+154,500 jobs YoY) (Figures 3 & 4).

- The quality of the labor market improved as formal employment surged and informal employment dropped: In Q3 2024, while the number for formal employment surged by around 662,500 people QoQ and 626,600 people YoY to 18.6 million, the number of people informally employed dropped by around 547,900 people QoQ and 381,900 people YoY to 33.0 million. As a result, the informal employment rate declined 1.4% QoQ and 1.1% YoY to 63.9%, the lowest rate since Q4 2019 (Figures 5 & 6).

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