About 1.6 million people aged 15-24 in Vietnam were not in employment, education or training in the third quarter of 2026, accounting for 11.2% of the country’s youth population, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.
The figure rose by about 195,100 from the previous quarter, despite broader improvements in the labour market, with labour underutilisation falling to its lowest level in several years.
The NSO’s latest report showed contrasting trends. Employment grew and labour underutilisation declined, but the number of young people outside employment, education and training rose significantly.
The NSO said the third-quarter increase was partly seasonal, as many students graduate from universities, colleges and vocational schools and move towards the labour market.
Some young people temporarily remain outside education and employment while searching for jobs or deciding on their next steps.
The group remained relatively small compared with many countries in the region and worldwide, the NSO said, indicating that the transition from education and training to employment in Vietnam was generally proceeding smoothly.
Better career guidance, more effective educational streaming and stronger links between young people, businesses and the labour market could shorten the transition from school to work, the report said.
The trend points to a need for better labour-market information. Young graduates often face a mismatch between their fields of study, practical skills and employers’ requirements.
Broader labour-market indicators also continued to improve.
Vietnam had about 1.9 million underutilised workers in the third quarter, or 3.6% of the labour force, according to the NSO. This was the lowest rate in several years. The rate averaged 3.9% in the first nine months of the year.
Labour underutilisation measures how much available labour is not fully used by the economy and reflects imbalances between labour supply and demand.
Some underutilisation persists under normal economic conditions, but the rate can rise sharply during economic or social shocks.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate reached 10.4% in Vietnam in the third quarter of 2021, its highest level in recent years. It later declined and has remained around 4% in recent years.
The labour force also expanded. Vietnam had nearly 54.1 million workers in the third quarter of 2026, up 278,400 from the previous quarter. Nearly 53 million were employed, up 0.6% quarter-on-quarter and 1.4% year-on-year.
Urban areas had about 20.8 million employed people, or 39.3% of total employment. Rural areas had about 32.1 million, up 152,100 from the previous quarter.
The increase of more than 195,000 young people outside employment, education and training in one quarter points to gaps between the education system and the labour market.
The NSO recommended earlier career guidance, better recruitment information, stronger cooperation between educational institutions and businesses, and job-ready skills for young people. These measures would help shorten the transition from graduation to employment, it said.
Sources: Viet Nam News
