According to ILO’s October 2012 Asia-Pacific Labour Market Update, two out of three workers in the country are informally employed. Informality is high in both rural and urban settings – accounting for two-thirds of rural, non-farm employment and half of all urban employment.

The highest levels of informality are in the trade sector (81 percent in rural areas and 63.7 percent in urban areas), the report says.

The ILO report also recognizes Vietnam’s significant development such as the introduction of the Unemployment Insurance Scheme and the endorsement of the Social Protection Floor Initiative which commits to providing basic income security and services to all people.

The Government has ratified the ILO Employment Policy Convention and is making efforts to develop a national employment policy and an employment bill to create conditions for full, productive and freely-chosen employment for all women and men.

ILO Bangkok labour economist Phu Huynh emphasised the close relations between employment and educational attainment.

Workers in informal sectors are not as qualified as those in formal sectors, Huynh said, citing that most people with tertiary education are formally employed, while  a majority of those with incomplete primary education or less are in informal employment.

Huynh also proposed that Vietnam pay due attention to developing skills and promoting stable employment.

Vocational training institutions should train professions that meet businesses’ demand, he said.

VOV online