Of the figure, 75 percent are aged from 25-54. 

Meanwhile, 1.8 million people became unemployed while 1.4 million others were vulnerable due to casual employment. 

The service sector was hardest hit with around 410,000 unemployed laborers. 

The proportion of unemployed laborers in urban areas was higher than in rural areas, with respectively rate of 2.8 percent and 2.49 percent. 

The informal employment rate in the second quarter of 2021 set a new record over the recent three years, with 20.9 million ones, up 1.4 million against the same period in 2019. 

Otherwise, the average income of laborers only reached VND6.1 million (or US$260), down VND226,000 (US$95) compared to the early months of the year. 

The unemployment rate in the second quarter was estimated at 2 percent. 

In early July, Viet Nam planned to provide aid to those financially affected by COVID-19 with a VND26 trillion (US$$1.13 billion) package.

The package is a follow-up to a previous initiative of VND62 trillion (US$2.6 billion) Viet Nam issued last year for the poor and businesses hit by COVID-19, said Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung.

The financial support package released in April last year included nearly VND36 trillion (US$1.55 billion) from the central government and local administration budgets.

As of May this year, nearly VND14 trillion of the package had been delivered to 13.2 million people.