Vietnam sends over 53,100 workers abroad in five months

Vietnam dispatched 53,159 workers abroad under labour contracts during January - May, hitting 47.5% of its full-year target, reported the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Japan remained the top destination, taking in 24,030 workers, including 10,750 women. Taiwan (China) followed with 21,104 workers, 6,752 of them women. The Republic of Korea (RoK) received 3,217, China 1,498, Singapore 704, Greece 441 and Russia 344.

In May alone, 11,948 Vietnamese workers left under labour contracts, 3,930 of them were women. Taiwan (China) led with 5,764 workers, including 1,664 women, ahead of Japan’s 4,608 workers, with 2,096 women. The RoK welcomed 423, while China accepted 396.

Japan has recently broadened its Specified Skilled Worker programme, adding linen supply, logistics warehousing, and resource circulation to lift eligible sectors to 19 from 16. Several existing categories were also revised and expanded. Starting in April 2027, automobile maintenance and repair, food and beverages will be split into more specialised occupations to better match labour-market needs.

Japan will also launch its Employment for Skill Development programme in April 2027, covering 17 sectors, a move expected to open more pathways for foreign workers, including Vietnamese, to enter the Japanese labour market.

Japan lowered its SSW admission target for the April 2024 March 2029 period to 805,700 from 820,000. The ESD programme, meanwhile, is projected to accept about 426,200 workers from April 2027 - March 2029.

On the domestic front, the ministry reported that Vietnam’s workforce aged 15 and above is estimated at 53.6 million, with a participation rate of 68.3%. Total employment stood at 52.5 million, and 29.6% of workers held formal qualifications or certificates.

Urban unemployment among the working-age population was 2.46%, well below the Government’s 2026 cap of 4%. Agriculture accounted for 25.3% of the workforce, meeting the annual target.

During the first five months, 11,471 enterprises reported hiring demand for 432,323 workers. Foreign-invested firms made up 55.5% of total needs, and unskilled labour represented nearly 79% of vacancies.

However, hiring demand remains concentrated in major economic hubs and nationally significant projects, while labour supply is scattered across rural areas. The ministry flagged a lack of coordinated planning and support policies to fix the mismatch.

Hiring may decelerate in June amid global economic uncertainty and rising input costs. Middle East tensions could increasingly reverberate through Vietnam’s labour market, driving up production costs, triggering job cuts and shorter working hours in labour-intensive industries such as apparel, footwear and export processing, and pushing workers from formal to informal employment.

Average monthly income for employed workers hit 9.01 million VND (346 USD) in the first quarter, up 7.4% from a year earlier. Salaried workers earned an average 10 million VND a month, up 5.3% year-on-year./.