Vietnam's labour market is projected to generate around 300,000 new jobs in the first quarter of 2026, supported mainly by a pickup in manufacturing activity following the Lunar New Year holiday, according to a bulletin issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Total employment is expected to reach approximately 53 million in Q1, an increase of 300,000 from the previous quarter. The ministry said the forecast points to a more visible recovery after a weaker close to 2025.
The anticipated rebound is linked to stronger export orders and plans by manufacturers to expand production. Recruitment demand is projected to rise by about 3.1% in food processing and 2.6% in transport equipment manufacturing, positioning these industries as the most labour-intensive in the post-holiday period as factories restart operations and ramp up output.
However, hiring momentum is not uniform across sectors. Employment demand is expected to ease in tobacco manufacturing, chemicals and chemical products, as well as machinery repair and installation, reflecting uneven recovery trends within the broader industrial landscape.
Data for Q4 2025 showed Vietnam's labour force at about 53.8 million people, with 52.7 million employed, up nearly 656,000 year-on-year. The services sector accounted for 40.8% of total employment, followed by industry and construction at 33.8%, and agriculture, forestry and fisheries at 25.4%.
Average monthly income for contract workers stood at roughly VND8.7 million (US$335) in Q4, marking a 3.9% increase from the previous quarter. The rise in earnings helped support household spending during the typically high-consumption post-holiday period.
Despite the gains, challenges remain. Around 784,000 people were underemployed in Q4, while approximately 1.07 million were unemployed, translating to a jobless rate of 2.22%. Urban unemployment continued to exceed the national average.
Among those applying for unemployment benefits, 61.2% lacked formal qualifications or certificates, while university graduates and those with higher degrees made up 19.2%. The data suggests that low-skilled workers remain the most vulnerable, highlighting the need for vocational training programmes better aligned with industry requirements.
Separately, research by ManpowerGroup Vietnam in its 2026 global employment trends and salary guide identified four key forces expected to shape the domestic labour market in the coming years. These include the growing adoption of flexible and project-based work models, particularly in sectors such as information technology, digital marketing, content creation, e-commerce and logistics.
