More than 7ml people sign for the dole

July 07, 2011 | 11:10

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More than 7.4 million Vietnamese people have registered for unemployment insurance since the policy was adopted two years ago.

illustration photo

Speaking at a press briefing, representatives of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs' Employment Department said as of December last year, the country's unemployment insurance fund reached VND4.8 trillion ($240 million).

The total fund for 2009 and 2010 was over VND8.3 trillion ($415 million). According to figures from the department, as of February this year, about 225,700 laid-off workers registered to get unemployment benefits, while 177,000 received allowances equal to 60 per cent of their average monthly salary in the last six months they had worked.

As of last December, the department disbursed VND550 billion to benefit laid-off workers.

The Unemployment Insurance Law came into effect two years ago.

The fund includes 1 per cent of an employee's salary, 1 per cent of businesses wage fund plus a contribution from the state equal to 1 per cent of the wage fund.

According to the General Statistics Department, the unemployment rate fell during the first six months this year. The rate was estimated at 2.58 per cent, while the figure last year was 4.1 per cent.

VIR/VNA

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