This report provides updated estimates of family living expenses and living wage for Minimum Wage Region 1, Vietnam. The update for 2023 takes into account inflation and changes in payroll deductions since the original Anker living wage study carried out in November 2022 (Do, Nguyen, Anker, and Anker, 2022).

This report estimates a living wage for minimum wage Region 1 of Vietnam using the Anker Methodology. Region 1 is one of four regions used by the Government of Vietnam for setting minimum wages and covers the two largest cities – Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. For Region 1, we estimate a living wage of VND 8,545,680 (USD 358) per month, as of November 2022. This is the gross wage required for a typical family of 2 adults (one in full-time employment and one in part-time employment) and 2 children to afford a nutritious, low-cost diet, healthy housing, adequate health care, education through secondary school, and all other essential expenses, plus a small margin for unexpected events. This value was calculated using secondary data on household expenditure, labor force activity, and population from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam combined with primary data collected on local costs of food, housing, health care, education, and transport for a sample of 2 districts in Ho Chi Minh City and 2 districts in Hanoi where workers live. Our living wage estimate is around 80% higher than the minimum wage for Region 1 that was set in July 2022.

This report updates the living wage and living expenses for a basic but decent living standard for a family for urban Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City. The net living wage (i.e. take home pay required for decency) and cost of a basic but decent living standard for a family are updated to the study month (March) of 2020 to take into account the amount of inflation since the original study in March 2016. Without accounting for inflation, the net living wage estimated in 2016 would not be sufficient for workers to have a basic but decent standard of living in 2020 because the purchasing power of the living wage would have decreased. Similarly, living expenses for a reference family are also updated to March 2020 to account for inflation. The gross living wage is updated to March 2020 by also taking into consideration income taxes and mandatory payroll deductions that workers would need to pay on the updated March 2020 living wage. This is done using March 2020 laws.

This report was commissioned by Superunie, in partnership with Foppen Eal and Salmon and FairFood International for the Global Living Wage Coalition. The Global Living Wage Coalition (GLWC) brings together Fairtrade International, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), GoodWeave International, Rainforest Alliance (RA), Social Accountability International (SAI), Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), and UTZ, in partnership with the ISEAL Alliance, and world-remowned living wage experts Richard Anker and Martha Anker.