Last month the Hanoi Center for Employment Services (HCES) received 9,000 applications, down from the monthly peak of 10,000 in June, Vu Quang Thanh, deputy director of the center, said Monday.

Half the applicants said they were affected by the impacts of Covid-19, he said.

The second wave of the disease last month did not have as severe impact as in the second quarter because the government did not impose social distancing, he explained.

With nearly 4,000 businesses resuming operations last month, the labor market is less effected, he added.

Hundreds of people queued up for tokens at HCES in Cau Giay District on Monday, and of them Hao was lucky to get one.

The 34-year old mother is now looking forward to the VND2.8 million ($121) monthly support after losing her human resources job in April after nine years of service.

Tai, a 28-year old man in the queue, said the VND2.5 million unemployment support would be a third of his family’s income after losing his lobby manager’s job at a downtown hotel in May.

With a baby expected by the end of this month, he now works as a driver for a motorbike ride-hailing company.

Thanh of HCES said that the number of applications would rise or fall in the remaining months of the year depending on the Covid-19 situation. If there is a surge in the number of cases, 90 percent of businesses would be affected, and monthly applications could double to 20,000, he added.

In the first eight months nearly 34,300 companies nationwide suspended business, up 70.8 percent year-on-year, according to the General Statistics Office.