Labour and employment specialists take part in the panel discussion.

Youth employment

Youth employment takes centre stage in Viet Nam’s future of work

As Viet Nam’s world of work undergoes profound transformation, ensuring young people can access productive and decent work requires looking beyond unemployment figures to job quality, informality and school-to-work transitions.

18 September 2026

HA NOI (ILO News) - Young people are entering the labour market at a time of profound transformation. Digitalization and artificial intelligence, the green transition, demographic shifts and the reconfiguration of global supply chains are reshaping labour demand, skills requirements and employment opportunities. The challenge is no longer only whether young people can find jobs, but whether they can access productive and decent work and navigate increasingly complex labour market transitions.

This was the central discussion of a knowledge-sharing event on “Youth Employment and Labour Market Trends: Data, Evidence and Communication”, organized in Hanoi on 18 September 2026 by the ILO Country Office for Viet Nam, with the support of the ILO–Korea Partnership Programme, and the Academy of Journalism and Communication (AJC). It brought together labour market experts from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), the National Statistics Office (NSO), ILO specialists, journalists, communication professionals, lecturers and students.

Overview of the event “Youth Employment and Labour Market Trends: Data, Evidence and Communication”.

Discussions established a shared evidence base extending well beyond the unemployment rate. According to the NSO, the unemployment rate among young people aged 15–24 in Viet Nam reached 8.67 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, almost four times the national unemployment rate. Among employed youth, however, informal employment accounted for 57.5 per cent of total youth employment in 2024, while only 41.4 per cent participated in social insurance schemes. These figures highlight persistent decent work deficits and suggest that many young workers continue to enter jobs characterized by limited protection, weaker prospects for skills development and career progression, and greater vulnerability to economic shocks.

Nguyen Khoi, a member of the Youth Network for Decent Work and Green Jobs, asks a question to the speaker at the event.

Participants also examined the concept of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET), which captures a broader group than unemployment statistics alone. According to the NSO, an estimated 1.4 million young people in Viet Nam were NEET in the second quarter of 2026. Globally, the figure stands at some 257 million, or 20 per cent of the world's youth population, more than two-thirds of them young women, according to the ILO’s Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026 report.

The green transition illustrates what is at stake. Research by the ILO and the Institute of State Organizational and Labour Sciences (ISOL), Ministry of Home Affairs, titled “Assessment on green jobs and career development support for youth in Viet Nam” shows that only around 3 per cent of young people in Viet Nam are currently employed in green jobs, while more than 30 per cent of youth employment has the potential to become green.

There is no single measure to address youth employment challenges. Skills development is essential but not sufficient; economic growth is necessary but does not automatically generate decent work for young people. The ILO's integrated approach combines employment-centred economic policies, career guidance, skills development, work-based learning, employment services, labour market information systems, enterprise support, social protection, gender equality and social dialogue.

“At the ILO, we believe that investing in young people is investing in the future. When young people have access to decent work, opportunities to develop their skills and equal and fair chance to realize their potential, the benefits extend well beyond individuals. They contribute to stronger enterprises, more inclusive labour markets and more sustainable development,” said Ms Sinwon Park, ILO Country Director for Viet Nam.

Ms Sinwon Park, Director of the ILO Country Office for Viet Nam, speaks at the event.

The event also underlined the role of journalists, communication professionals and educators in enhancing public understanding and contributing to more balanced narratives about the opportunities and challenges facing young people.

"Journalism on the labour market shapes how society understands the opportunities and risks facing young people. Equipping our students and our media partners to work confidently with labour market data is part of the Academy's responsibility to the profession, and this partnership with the ILO strengthens that work," said Assoc. Prof. Dr Pham Minh Son, Director of the Academy of Journalism and Communication.