47 pct of Vietnamese wage earners young: ILO

Young people make up the biggest group among Vietnam's wage workers, according to the latest report by the International Labor Organization (ILO) on Wednesday.

Wage workers are those who hold an employment contract and often have better working conditions and socio-economic status.

Of all the wage workers, some 47 percent are young, between 15 and 24 of age, which "indicates one of the key characteristics of the Vietnamese labor market today", according to ILO Vietnam Director Gyorgy Sziraczki.

Over 75 percent of wage workers have been with their current employers for less than 10 years. This partly reflects the young age of workers and the current labor market reality, said ILO.

The ILO estimated that wage employees will total 25 million, or 44 percent of all workers by 2025, in comparison to the current 18. 2 million, or 35 percent of total employment as pointed out by the 2013 Vietnam Labor Force Survey. This already represents an expansion from 13.5 million, or 29 percent of all workers, in 2005.

By economic sector, manufacturing accounts for the most wage employees in Vietnam with 29 percent, or 5.2 million workers. Construction ranks second with 16 percent, followed by agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

Approximately half of wage workers are in medium-skill occupation while about one fourth are in high-skill jobs, said ILO. Endi