HANOI, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam currently has some 18 million informal workers, compared with 16.8 million in 2014, representing over 57 percent of its total workforce, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Thursday.
Informal workers, most of whom live and work in rural areas, home to many traditional craft villages and business households, have an average monthly income of 3.9 million Vietnamese dong (172 U.S. dollars).
Up to 97 percent of informal workers do not enjoy social insurance, and 76 percent do not have written employment contracts, the office said, noting that 62 percent have only oral contracts.
While providing an important source of employment and income-generating opportunities to many Vietnamese people, the life of workers in the informal sector in Vietnam is characterized by low incomes and precarious labor conditions, making them more vulnerable to external shocks, according to the International Labor Organization (ILO).
The Vietnamese government is trying to expand the protection to this group by improving the legal framework and developing policies to address the challenges of the informal economy, said the ILO.
