Vietnam labor market and migration trends

Data from the General Statistics Office and the International Organization for Migration indicates a shifting landscape for the Vietnamese labor market, both domestically and for citizens working abroad.

For migrant workers, the average cost to secure overseas employment in 2025 was approximately 126 million VND, a significant decrease from the 165 million VND average in 2021. This reduction is attributed to legal reforms, such as the 2020 Law on Vietnamese Workers Working Abroad under Contract, which capped service fees and prohibited brokers from collecting fees directly from workers. Despite lower costs, approximately 53% of surveyed workers still required loans to cover expenses. However, the economic outlook for these workers has improved; the average first-month income abroad rose to 28.1 million VND in 2025, reducing the time needed to recoup initial costs from 7.4 months to 4.5 months.

Domestically, the labor force aged 15 and older grew to 53.8 million people during the first nine months of 2026. Average monthly income for domestic workers in the third quarter of 2026 rose to 9.2 million VND, a 9.9% year-on-year increase. There is a notable structural shift in the workforce, with labor moving toward the industrial, construction, and service sectors, while numbers in agriculture, forestry, and fishery declined.