HANOI, April 13 (Xinhua) -- More than 16.9 million people aged 15 and above in Vietnam were adversely affected by COVID-19 in the first quarter of this year, down 7.8 million compared to the same period last year, Vietnam News Agency cited a recent report as reporting on Wednesday.
Among the 16.9 million people, around 900,000 lost their jobs and 13.7 million laborers suffered income reduction, according to a report on COVID-19 impacts on labor and employment situation in the first quarter of 2022 by the General Statistics Office.
From January to March this year, 5.1 million people had their jobs or businesses suspended, and 5.7 million people had their working hours cut, got furloughed or were forced to work on rotational shifts.
The report also indicated positive signs of laborers' income in the period, as the average monthly income of laborers in the first quarter of 2022 was 6.4 million Vietnamese dong (around 278 U.S. dollars), up 1 million Vietnamese dong compared to the previous quarter and up 110,000 Vietnamese dong year on year.
According to the report, male workers earn more than females with the average monthly incomes at 7.3 million Vietnamese dong and 5.4 million Vietnamese dong respectively.
There were around 50 million Vietnamese people aged 15 and above employed in the country during the period, according to the report. ■