Viet Nam's unemployment rate for people over 15 years old was low, at 2.05 per cent.— VNA Photo

The Vietnamese workforce reached 55.8 million last year, and increase of 417,100 compared to 2018, reported the General Statistics Office.

Of the total, 19 million were working in the agro-forestry-fishery sector, accounting for 34.7 per cent; 16.1 million in the industrial and construction sector (29.4 per cent); and 19.6 million in the service sector (35.9 per cent).

General Statistics Office (GSO) Director General Nguyen Bich Lam said the country had witnessed positive developments last year in terms of labour, with the service sector taking over the agro-forestry-fishery sector as the largest employer.

The average salary also increased 2.23 per cent last year.

The unemployment rate for people over 15 years old was low, at 2.05 per cent. The unemployment rate in rural areas was nearly two times lower than in urban areas.

Young laborers aged 15-24 years old accounted for most of the unemployed at 44.4 per cent.

Lam emphasised the positive employment growth was thanks to the Government pushing its targets and solutions to improve the business environment and enhance competitiveness.

These efforts also created conditions for the establishment of 138,100 new enterprises last year, marking a record in the number of newly-established enterprises in one year with an increase of 5.2 per cent compared to 2018.

As a result, these enterprises recruited 1.25 million workers last year, an increase of 13.3 per cent. — VNS