Among Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam ranks second, while Indonesia takes top place at 6.1 million unemployed.
Over the same period, the number of private businesses and production establishments totalled nearly 5.2 million, an increase of 5.7% from 2016.
The package will help businesses and workers hit by the pandemic, revive an economy impacted by strict lockdowns, and increase infrastructure spending.
A slimmer stimulus package of 347 trillion dong (US$15.2 billion) is being considered to lift the pandemic-hit economy.
There are now around 64,000 digital technology companies in Vietnam, after 5,600 new companies were established in 2021.
These workers were more likely to lose their jobs because they dominated sectors that were hard-hit, like hotels and restaurants, wholesale, and retail.
These include some 1.85 million workers who had their labour contracts temporarily suspended or were told to take unpaid leave.
Over VND5,422 billion (US$238 million) has been spent to support employers and employees in the city impacted by the pandemic.
To attract people who have gone back to their hometowns to return to work after lockdown, the government is working on a support package.
More than VND24.6 trillion (US$1.6 billion) in cash assistance has been disbursed from the unemployment insurance fund.
More than 5 million workers affected by the pandemic have received assistance from the unemployment insurance fund.
Male workers are also receiving a higher average monthly wage as compared to their female counterparts.
About three million workers in Ho Chi Minh City stand to gain from the unemployment insurance fund with total allowances of about VND6 trillion.
The Ministry of Labour - Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) has set a target of bringing a million workers back to being employed by the end of 2021.
The government will provide financial aid to pandemic-hit workers and employers, drawing from the unemployment insurance fund.
Foreign business chambers are urging the government to reopen the local economy to retain investments in the country.
The digital-transformation programme is designed to help enterprises, cooperatives, and household businesses in their digitalisation efforts.
On average, over 11,300 companies withdraw from the labour market each month, across various industries.
These include a 30% cut in corporate income tax, and a 30% value-added tax cut for businesses in sectors hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Many companies in the southern part of the country are seeking approval to allow their staff to go back to their own residences.
To buffer the impact of pandemic lockdowns, the government has been providing help to workers via its various policies.
Companies can now apply for interest-free loans to pay furloughed staff and salaries from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies.
To offer financial aid to those affected by the pandemic, the government is planning a VND26-trillion (US$1.13-billion) package.
The VND27,600 billion (US$1.2 billion) relief package will support workers and businesses badly hit by the pandemic.
Most employers are willing to pay to vaccinate their employees to curb the spread of the virus in their companies.
Local governments have been urged to relax overly strict lockdowns that are affecting production and business activity in some provinces.
Three major manufacturing associations are calling for the vaccination of workers against COVID-19 due to the latter’s vulnerability to infection.
Data from the General Statistics Office (GSO) showed that the average income of workers rose 5.7% in Q1 compared to Q4 of 2020.
To upskill workers likely to lose their jobs due to COVID-19, the labour ministry has proposed a programme to train them.
Minister of information and communications Nguyen Manh Hung has said the country plans to implement a digital government by 2025.