COVID-19 Leaves Nearly 1 Million Vietnamese Unemployed
2020-07-26
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1Vietnam has reported big success in limiting the spread of COVID-19 inside the country.
2But the worldwide pandemic has left nearly 1 million Vietnamese unemployed.
3About 900,000 people are currently unemployed.
4Another 18 million are underemployed.
5Those numbers come from the country's General Statistics Office report for the first half of 2020.
6The record jobless rate comes even though Vietnam is the most populous nation in the world to report zero COVID-19 deaths.
7Vietnam is also one of the few countries worldwide to see its economy grow this year.
8Experts say the huge job losses were mainly caused by the shrinking demand for its products from nations hit hard by the virus.
9The most affected areas have been in Vietnam's cities.
10In the second quarter of 2020, unemployment in cities hit a 10-year high of 4.46 percent.
11During the same period two years earlier, the unemployment rate in cities was 3.09 percent.
12The rise also marks a change from the first quarter of 2020, when the International Labor Organization office in Hanoi said employment levels "remained unaffected by the crisis" of COVID-19.
13"The complicated and unpredictable COVID-19 pandemic caused growth in most industries and sectors to slow down," the General Statistics Office said in a statement.
14"Unemployment and underemployment have increased greatly."
15Such high jobless numbers are almost unheard of in Vietnam.
16The country historically reports continually rising trade growth, which fuels major factory and construction activity across the country.
17In answer to COVID-19, the country introduced a $2.7 billion relief fund that includes aid to workers.
18Vietnam is in the process of approving labor unions independent of the Communist Party.
19The move is part of a promise related to a new European Union trade deal.
20Vietnam depends heavily on exports to drive its economy, especially to the United States and the European Union.
21But consumer demand in both places dropped as the pandemic grew.
22However, there is still more investment going to Vietnam compared to most other nations.
23More Vietnamese are flying within the country compared to last year.
24The increase has come following a campaign to replace the loss of foreign visitors with local travelers.
25And, hotels like the Anam on Vietnam's south-central coast say they have increased anti-virus safety measures to help bring more local visitors.
26I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Vietnam has reported big success in limiting the spread of COVID-19 inside the country. But the worldwide pandemic has left nearly 1 million Vietnamese unemployed. 2About 900,000 people are currently unemployed. Another 18 million are underemployed. Those numbers come from the country's General Statistics Office report for the first half of 2020. 3The record jobless rate comes even though Vietnam is the most populous nation in the world to report zero COVID-19 deaths. Vietnam is also one of the few countries worldwide to see its economy grow this year. 4Experts say the huge job losses were mainly caused by the shrinking demand for its products from nations hit hard by the virus. 5The most affected areas have been in Vietnam's cities. In the second quarter of 2020, unemployment in cities hit a 10-year high of 4.46 percent. During the same period two years earlier, the unemployment rate in cities was 3.09 percent. 6The rise also marks a change from the first quarter of 2020, when the International Labor Organization office in Hanoi said employment levels "remained unaffected by the crisis" of COVID-19. 7"The complicated and unpredictable COVID-19 pandemic caused growth in most industries and sectors to slow down," the General Statistics Office said in a statement. "Unemployment and underemployment have increased greatly." 8Such high jobless numbers are almost unheard of in Vietnam. The country historically reports continually rising trade growth, which fuels major factory and construction activity across the country. 9In answer to COVID-19, the country introduced a $2.7 billion relief fund that includes aid to workers. 10Vietnam is in the process of approving labor unions independent of the Communist Party. The move is part of a promise related to a new European Union trade deal. 11Vietnam depends heavily on exports to drive its economy, especially to the United States and the European Union. But consumer demand in both places dropped as the pandemic grew. 12However, there is still more investment going to Vietnam compared to most other nations. 13More Vietnamese are flying within the country compared to last year. The increase has come following a campaign to replace the loss of foreign visitors with local travelers. And, hotels like the Anam on Vietnam's south-central coast say they have increased anti-virus safety measures to help bring more local visitors. 14I'm Bryan Lynn. 15Bryan Lynn adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report from VOA News. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 16We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 17________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19pandemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people 20complicate - v. make something more difficult to deal with or understand 21sector - n. one part of a country's economy 22relief - n. help given to people in need 23fund - n. an amount of money collected for a particular purpose 24consumer - n. a person who buys goods and services 25replace - v. to use instead of something else