Samsung Vietnam’s factory locked down after a worker test positive for Covid-19
	Jobless workers due to COVID-19 can receive monthly allowance
	Japan suspends entrance of Vietnamese workers starting March 28

Workers in food production ( Photo: tienphong.vn)

According to ILO, up to 10.3 million workers could be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, losing jobs or seeing their incomes decline in the second quarter.

The livelihoods of between 4.6 and 10.3 million workers in many sectors including retail, tourism, transport, manufacturing, accommodation and food services will be affected by the pandemic, according to a report released Tuesday by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

These workers will see a decline in their working hours, wages, or lose their jobs, says the report titled "Covid-19 and the labour market in Vietnam."

With the wholesale and retail sectors facing a demand slump due to social distancing and tourism, transport and storage also affected by travel bans, the adverse impacts are difficult to avoid, it says.

Many businesses of all sizes and sectors have closed during the social distancing campaign period, while factories are reducing working hours of staff or letting workers go.

"The widespread reduction in economic activity is having an unprecedented impact on Vietnam’s world of work," the report says.

It notes that the crisis will hit informal workers especially hard, as these employees lack social protection coverage. Between 64-81 percent of staff in accommodation, retail and transport sectors are informal workers.

Vietnamese women will be among the more prominent victims, as they constitute more than half of the workforce in the hardest-hit sectors.

Vnexpress reported that processing and manufacturing industries were most heavily impacted with 1.2 million jobs affected; followed by wholesale and retail, 1.1 million; plus accommodation and catering services, 740,000, according to General Statistics Office (GSO).

Photo by Vnexpress

Among affected employees, 59 percent are temporarily out of work, 28 percent are taking turns to work, and the remaining 13 percent have lost their jobs.

Photo by Vnexpress

"The complicated developments of the Covid-19 pandemic have affected employment in most manufacturing and business sectors," the GSO report said.

Vu Thi Thu Thuy, Director of the GSO’s Department of Population and Labor Statistics, said that in the first quarter, labor force participation declined the most in the last 10 years. Just 75.4 percent of the 15- year-and-above population joined the labor force during this period, down 1.2 and 1.3 percent respectively over the previous quarter and the same period last year.

Unemployment among workers 15 years and above also reached a 5-year high. According to the GSO, unemployment rate in the first quarter was 2.22 percent, up 0.07 percent against the previous quarter and 0.05 percent year-on-year.

Meanwhile, the average monthly income of workers in the first quarter reached VND6.2 million ($264), an increase of VND353,000 ($15) compared to the previous quarter and an increase of VND473,000 ($20) year-on-year.

A shop in HCMC's Ben Thanh market is closed on March 27, 2020 since there are few customers. Photo by VnExpress

A GSO study also found nearly 85 percent of enterprises saying they are facing many difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Vietnam recorded a GDP growth of 3.82 percent in Q1, its lowest in a decade. As many as 18,600 companies temporarily suspended business in Q1, up 26 percent year-on-year.

Up to 10.3 million workers could be impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, losing jobs or seeing their incomes decline in the second quarter, according to a recent report by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Which countries and places have not yet reported any COVID-19 cases? While the COVID-19 pandemic has swept through most of the world, claiming nearly 130,000 lives and taking heavy tolls on over 2 million nCoV-contracted patients, ...

Quarantine order: Samsung's production lines in Vietnam had not been affected Vietnam authorities have ordered Samsung Display employees to be quarantined after a worker there tested positive for the new coronavirus.

Vietnam social welfare package should be hastened to pandemic-affected groups Permanent Cabinet members deliberated the social welfare package for people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic during their meeting in Hanoi on April 5. PM Nguyen ...