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Approximately 11.5 million male and female workers in Vietnam—about one in five—are employed in jobs that could be affected by generative AI (GenAI), according to a new report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) office in Vietnam. The report, titled “Generative AI and Jobs in Vietnam: The Extent of Impact on the Labor Market and Policy Recommendations,” says the most plausible outcome is a shift in the nature of tasks rather than widespread substitution of human labor.
The ILO report estimates that around 11.5 million workers are in roles that could be affected by GenAI. It also finds that only about 1 million workers perform highly standardized tasks that are easily automatable, implying automation risk affects less than 2% of the workforce—lower than in regional peers such as Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
GenAI’s impact is not uniform across the labor market. Administrative and clerical support workers face the highest risk, with nearly two-thirds in this group potentially experiencing partial automation of tasks.
By industry, the report identifies the financial–insurance, wholesale–retail, and information–communications sectors as having the highest shares of workers expected to be affected by GenAI.
Regionally, workers in major cities—including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Da Nang—account for more than one-third of all jobs nationwide that are likely to be affected by GenAI.
The report highlights a gender gap in exposure. Women are more likely to work in GenAI-affected sectors, with impact rates of 24.1% compared with 17.8% for men. Even after adjusting for education levels or field, female workers still face a higher level of impact.
The ILO attributes this partly to the concentration of women in office, administrative, and service roles—areas where GenAI can be applied more easily due to standardized work and heavy document handling.
The effects are described as two-sided. In sales sectors, where women make up about two-thirds of the workforce, GenAI can boost productivity and improve work quality. However, office roles with repetitive tasks face a clearer risk of partial automation, potentially threatening job stability in roles that currently provide formal employment for many women.
Despite global concerns about job losses due to AI, the report finds no clear evidence of reduced opportunities for young, highly skilled workers in GenAI-affected sectors in Vietnam during 2022–2024. It also notes that employment in service sectors has continued to grow in recent years, suggesting stable demand as AI adoption remains at an early stage.
Ms. Sinwon Park, ILO Country Director in Vietnam, said Vietnam has a major opportunity to use generative AI to drive productivity and decent work, but that benefits and risks will not be distributed evenly. She said decisive action is needed now, including strengthening AI governance in line with labor standards, investing in workers’ skills, ensuring workers have a voice in AI deployment at the workplace, helping SMEs adopt AI responsibly to boost productivity with decent work, and establishing safeguards for a fair and inclusive transition.
The ILO also said that as Vietnam accelerates digital transformation, proactive and inclusive policies will be important to ensure GenAI benefits are widely shared and that no worker is left behind. The report calls for coordinated action among government, employers, workers, and stakeholders.
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