Insights
What is moving in Vietnam's labour market and what it means for your hiring and payroll. Updated 1 Nov 2026.
Disbursed FDI reached US$21.07 billion in January–September 2026, up 12.1% year on year. Registered FDI rose 76.4% to US$50.36 billion, with 3,108 new projects.
What it means: New projects reaching production in 2027 will compete for plant managers, engineers and bilingual supervisors.
Source: Viet Nam News (NSO data)
Disbursed FDI by sector, US$bn
No Vietnamese entity yet? An EOR employs your people locally and takes over contracts, payroll, social insurance and HR administration, so you can hire a first team without setting up a subsidiary.
About 42% of Vietnamese employees are actively job-hunting and another 29% are open to offers, while unemployment stayed near 2.2% in Q1 2026. Good candidates are off the market fast.
Investors increasingly judge Vietnam on workforce quality, not just wages. The article points to the World Bank's Human Capital Index Plus, where Vietnam scores 216 out of 325.
Market opportunity does not equal operational readiness. Before scaling, companies need legal hiring routes, sound contracts, payroll and statutory contributions, and day-one HR compliance.
Vietnam's labour force reached 53.3 million in Q3 2025, yet only about 29% of workers hold a recognised diploma or certificate. The constraint is skills fit, not headcount.
Manufacturing and processing absorbed US$17.4 billion of disbursed FDI. Transport and storage drew 17.6% of new registered capital. Singapore (US$9.26bn) and Korea (US$5.70bn) led new investment.
Decree 161/2026/ND-CP raises the base salary from VND 2.34 million to VND 2.53 million a month. Because the cap on salary subject to compulsory social and health insurance is 20 times the base salary, the monthly ceiling rises from VND 46.8 million to VND 50.6 million.
PIT Law No. 109/2025/QH15 and its guiding Decree 253/2026/ND-CP took effect on 1 July 2026. The salary tax schedule now has five brackets (5% to 35%) and applies to the whole 2026 tax year. Personal relief is VND 15.5 million and each dependant VND 6.2 million a month under Resolution 110/2025/UBTVQH15.
Decree 293/2025/ND-CP sets monthly minimum wages of VND 5.31 million (Region I), 4.73 million (Region II), 4.14 million (Region III) and 3.70 million (Region IV). Employers in industrial zones that span several regions apply the highest rate.
From 1 January 2026, employees on labour contracts of one month or more, qualifying part-time employees and salaried enterprise managers must participate in unemployment insurance.
Law 91/2025/QH15 requires employers to collect only the candidate data they need, delete the data of unsuccessful candidates and handle employee data properly after termination.
Under the roadmap in the 2019 Labour Code, the retirement age under normal working conditions rises by three months a year for men and four months for women, reaching 62 for men in 2028 and 60 for women in 2035.
Summaries are for information only and are not legal advice. Check the original legal text before acting.