Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Vu Chien Thang announced on the afternoon of 29/12, at a conference reviewing 2025 performance and outlining 2026 tasks, that employment indicators improved alongside the rise in average income.
Specifically, the urban unemployment rate was 2,39%, the working-age unemployment rate was 2,22%, and the working-age underemployment rate was 1,65%, all lower than in 2024.
National employment service centers organized over 750 job fairs throughout the year, counseling and placing about 1,7 million people, with 425,500 finding jobs. Applications for unemployment benefits decreased by 12% from the previous year, totaling 745,000. Additionally, Vietnam sent 144,300 workers abroad, surpassing its goal.
 |
Workers at Dony garment company (Vinh Loc A commune, TP HCM), 8/2025. Photo: Quynh Tran
For 2026, the Ministry of Home Affairs plans to refine regulations on organizational structure, promoting decentralization and power delegation. This includes managing staffing from 2026 to 2031, aligning it with specific job roles and local agency tasks. The Ministry will also propose amendments to salary and allowance regulations for officials, civil servants, public employees, and the armed forces.
Vietnam aims to send 112,000 workers abroad in 2026.
The Ministry of Home Affairs streamlined government agencies last year, reducing them to 14 ministries, three ministerial-level agencies, and five affiliated bodies. Nationwide, over 700 provincial-level specialized agencies and nearly 8,300 district-level specialized agencies were cut. The country now has 467 provincial-level specialized agencies and over 9,900 specialized departments across communes, wards, and special zones.
The Ministry also proposed a plan to merge provinces and communes, eliminate the district level, and establish a two-tier local government system. This restructuring has resulted in 34 provinces and cities, and 3,321 communes, wards, and special zones nationwide. Consequently, 146,800 individuals opted for early retirement benefits under Decree 178.
Vu Tuan
