From 1 January 2026, Decree 293/2025/ND-CP sets Vietnam's monthly minimum wage at ₫5,310,000 in Region I, ₫4,730,000 in Region II, ₫4,140,000 in Region III and ₫3,700,000 in Region IV. That is an average increase of 7.2%.
If you are running a technology payroll, the floor itself will not bind. The figure that reaches your costs is the one derived from it: the unemployment insurance ceiling, now ₫106,200,000 a month in Region I.
Vietnam minimum wage 2026 and 2027 by region
| Region | 2026 monthly | 2027 monthly* | Hourly 2026 / 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Region ICentral Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City wards, and neighbouring industrial communes | ₫5,310,000 | ₫5,700,000+₫390,000 | ₫25,500₫27,400 |
| Region IIThe rest of the two big cities, and urban wards of cities such as Da Nang, Can Tho and Hai Phong | ₫4,730,000 | ₫5,080,000+₫350,000 | ₫22,700₫24,400 |
| Region IIIProvincial towns and many industrial communes outside the main cities | ₫4,140,000 | ₫4,450,000+₫310,000 | ₫20,000₫21,400 |
| Region IVThe remaining, mostly rural, communes | ₫3,700,000 | ₫4,040,000+₫340,000 | ₫17,800₫19,400 |
* Agreed by the National Wage Council on 16 July 2026; the government decree is still to be issued.
The hourly floors matter more than they used to. They are what applies to part-time and hourly-paid staff, and they are not simply the monthly figure divided by a standard month, so calculating them yourself will give the wrong answer.
Effective period
The 2026 rates apply from 1 January 2026 under Decree 293/2025/ND-CP, replacing the Decree 74/2024/ND-CP figures that ran from 1 July 2024. The 2027 rates are the National Wage Council's recommendation: use them for budgeting, and check the final decree before running January 2027 payroll.
Vietnam minimum wage 2027: what's agreed and what's still to come
On 16 July 2026 the National Wage Council agreed a 7.8% average rise from 1 January 2027, between ₫310,000 and ₫390,000 a month depending on the region. It was a compromise: the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour asked for 8.5% or 9.8%, and employers for about 5% from July 2027. The Ministry of Home Affairs has published the draft decree for consultation, and the government is expected to issue it before the end of the year.
The draft also redraws the map. Some wards in Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong and Dong Nai would move from Region II to Region I, others in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Dong Nai from Region III to Region II, and parts of Hung Yen from Region IV to Region III. If your site is in one of those areas, your floor could rise by more than 7.8%.
For a technology payroll, the change to plan for is the unemployment insurance ceiling: 20 times the Region I minimum, so ₫106,200,000 a month now and ₫114,000,000 from January. Anyone earning above ₫106,200,000 would pay up to ₫78,000 more a month in the 1% employee contribution, with the same again from the employer.
What the minimum wage actually drives
The floor is the least interesting thing about the regional minimum wage for most employers. Its real weight is as a multiplier inside other calculations, and Vietnam deliberately uses two different reference figures for the insurance ceilings.
Unemployment insurance ceiling
₫106,200,000 a month in Region I
20 times the regional minimum wage. This is a different ceiling from the one used for social and health insurance.
Social and health insurance ceiling
₫50,600,000 a month
20 times the statutory reference level of ₫2,530,000, not the minimum wage. It does not move when the minimum wage does.
Night shift and overtime premiums
Calculated on actual pay
The statutory percentages apply to the employee's real wage, so the minimum wage only binds where pay sits at the floor.
Unemployment benefit cap
Tied to the regional minimum wage
Benefit entitlement is capped as a multiple of the regional minimum wage where contributions were made.
The two ceilings are the thing to get right. A payroll model that applies ₫50,600,000 to all four contributions understates both the employee deduction and the employer cost for anyone earning above that, because unemployment insurance keeps accruing up to ₫106,200,000.
See both ceilings applied to a real salary.
Open the employer cost calculatorThe classification is set by commune and ward, not by city
This is where employers get caught. The decree's appendix assigns regions commune by commune and ward by ward (xã and phường), so a single province can contain Region I, II and III localities. Two factories half an hour apart can face floors ₫580,000 a month apart, and that difference lands on every worker at the floor.
Vietnam merged provinces and abolished districts in 2025, cutting 63 provinces to 34. If your payroll system holds a region code set before that, it may be pointing at an administrative unit that no longer exists. The only safe answer is the appendix to the current decree, checked against the present commune or ward name, and the 2027 decree will bring a new appendix.
Why a technology employer should still care
A junior developer in Ho Chi Minh City earns roughly four and a half times the Region I floor, so the minimum wage will never bind on an engineering salary. It reaches the payroll in two other ways. The unemployment insurance ceiling determines how much of a senior salary keeps attracting the 1% employee and 1% employer contributions, and it rose with the minimum wage for 2026. And unemployment benefit entitlement, if a role ends, is capped as a multiple of the regional minimum wage.
If you employ support, operations or facilities staff alongside an engineering team, the floor may bind directly on part of your headcount while being irrelevant to the rest.
Work out a full Vietnamese hire
Social insurance at 17.5%, health at 3%, unemployment at 1% on its own higher ceiling, and the 2% trade union fee, itemised rather than lumped into a single percentage.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Vietnam's minimum wage in 2026?
Under Decree 293/2025/ND-CP, effective 1 January 2026, the monthly floors are ₫5,310,000 in Region I, ₫4,730,000 in Region II, ₫4,140,000 in Region III and ₫3,700,000 in Region IV. The hourly floors are ₫25,500, ₫22,700, ₫20,000 and ₫17,800 respectively. That is an average rise of 7.2% on the Decree 74/2024/ND-CP figures that had applied since 1 July 2024.
What will the minimum wage be in Vietnam in 2027?
If the government adopts the National Wage Council's recommendation, from 1 January 2027 the monthly floors will be ₫5,700,000 in Region I, ₫5,080,000 in Region II, ₫4,450,000 in Region III and ₫4,040,000 in Region IV, an average rise of 7.8%. Hourly floors would be ₫27,400, ₫24,400, ₫21,400 and ₫19,400. The decree hasn't been issued yet.
Which region am I in?
It depends on the commune or ward (xã or phường) where your employer operates, not the province. Central Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City wards are mostly Region I, outer areas and other large cities Region II, provincial towns Region III and rural communes Region IV. The decree's appendix lists every commune and ward, and since the 2025 reorganisation it no longer uses districts.
Why does the commune-level classification matter so much?
Because two sites twenty kilometres apart can sit in different regions with a monthly floor ₫580,000 apart, and the employer picks up that difference on every affected worker. Vietnam abolished districts and merged provinces in 2025, so a payroll system set up before then may hold a region code for a unit that no longer exists. The 2027 draft also moves some wards in Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Dong Nai, Da Nang and Hung Yen up a region.
Does the minimum wage affect the insurance ceilings?
One of them. Unemployment insurance is capped at 20 times the applicable regional minimum wage, so in Region I that ceiling rose to ₫106,200,000 a month for 2026, and would reach ₫114,000,000 in 2027. Social and health insurance use a completely different ceiling: 20 times the statutory reference level of ₫2,530,000, which gives ₫50,600,000 a month. The two move on separate schedules, and treating them as one figure understates contributions for higher earners.
Does the minimum wage affect a technology salary?
Not as a floor. A junior developer in Ho Chi Minh City earns several times the Region I minimum. Where it does reach a technology payroll is through the unemployment insurance ceiling, which sets how much of a senior salary keeps attracting the 1% employee and 1% employer contribution, and through unemployment benefit entitlement if the role ends.
Is the minimum wage gross or net?
Gross. It is the floor for the contractual wage before the employee's 10.5% compulsory insurance and any PIT. In practice a worker at the Region I floor pays no PIT at all, because ₫5,310,000 a month is far below the ₫15,500,000 personal deduction.
How often does it change?
There is no fixed cycle. The National Wage Council negotiates and recommends, and the government issues a decree when it agrees. The last rises came on 1 July 2024 and 1 January 2026, and the next is proposed for 1 January 2027. Employers argued for July 2027 this time, so the date isn't automatic either.
What happens if an employer pays below the floor?
It is a breach of the Labour Code with administrative penalties, and the employer must make up the shortfall. The floor applies to the wage for normal working hours under normal conditions, so an employer cannot count overtime premiums, night differentials or bonuses toward reaching it.
Related reading & tools
2026 figures are from Decree 293/2025/ND-CP, effective 1 January 2026. 2027 figures are the National Wage Council's 16 July 2026 recommendation and the Ministry of Home Affairs draft decree, checked 6 October 2026. Region descriptions are summaries; the decree's appendix assigns regions by commune and ward and is the authority. General information only, not legal or payroll advice.