The newsletter reported that the economy would create more jobs this year compared to 2013, especially in the fields of processing and manufacturing, construction, retail and wholesale, and hotels and food services.

It also said the unemployment rate in urban areas has remained constant, while job opportunities in agriculture will see continued decreases due to the process of urbanisation and industrialisation.

MoLISA forecast that this year's GDP growth will be on the recovery track, although it might not reach a record high. The GDP growth is predicted to reach 5.8 per cent, slightly higher than that of the previous year of 5.4 per cent.

The ministry also forecast that the number of participants in unemployment insurance would see a dramatic increase, at 85-90 per cent of the total number of participants in compulsory social insurance, thanks to the extension of those eligible to apply for unemployment insurance.

Until the end of last year, unemployment remained serious. According to the General Statistics Office, 900,000 unemployed people were recorded in the last quarter of last year, an increase of 48,000 against the same period the previous year.

During the same period, the unemployment rate among youth aged 15-24 continued to see a high increase, with 5.9 per cent. The rate is especially higher among university and college graduates aged 20-24, with 20.75 per cent.

The rate of permanent unemployment (those out of work over 12 months) among the unemployed is also reportedly high, at over 44 per cent, more than double that in the same period in 2013. — VNS