Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has instructed the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs to create a plan to issue policies in support of workers who have lost their jobs.

The ministry reported that a number of businesses have had to narrow down production and trade as a result of the global economic difficulties since the fourth quarter of 2022, resulting in many people losing their jobs or working fewer hours.

The majority of affected workers are employed by foreign-invested enterprises in the fields of garments and textiles and footwear in localities such as Bac Giang, Hai Duong, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Tay Ninh, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Tien Giang provinces and Ho Chi Minh City.

Some 149,000 workers lost their jobs in the first quarter of this year. Most worked at industrial parks or processing and export processing zones in localities such as Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Bac Ninh and Bac Giang provinces.