According to ILO, informal employment refers to ‘all employment arrangements that do not provide individuals with legal or social protection through their work, thereby leaving them more exposed to economic risk’. Informal employment refers to jobs, whether in the formal or informal sector, that are not covered by labour regulation, taxation, social protection or other employment benefits. The term informal economy workers refers to those who hold informal employment.

According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam has 33.6 million workers in informal employment in 2021. The rate of workers in informal employment in Vietnam is 68.5%. Informal economy workers can be found inside and outside the informal sector.

Informal employment makes significant contribution to GDP. The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of policies and actions to reduce the vulnerability of the labor market by reducing informal employment. Expanding formal employment is also an important area that Vietnam should improve on the its path to the upper-middle-income country status and to a people-centred economy where decent jobs are one of the prime priorities.

This study is implemented by Economica to discuss major policy issues related to informal employment in Vietnam and the key policy implications under the current context of Vietnam. The report benefited tremendously from the comments and support by the Central Economic Commission (CEC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Please click here or in the photos of the report cover page above to download the report in Vietnamese and English.