WB Survey: Average Household Income Decreases By 11-22% Due To COVID-19

The survey shows that by January 2021, an average household income of the top quintile was about 11.4-21.6% less than levels in June 2020. 

On the other hand, households in the lowest quintile experienced continuous income reduction in each successive survey round, with income in January 2021 estimated to have declined between 14-25% since June 2020.

When examining year on year changes in household income, almost half report lower income in January 2021 compared to January 2020. 

The good news is that over time, the share of households suffering large year-on-year declines in household income of 50-99% is shrinking. 

About 24% of households reported that incomes in July 2020 was 50-99% lower than at the same time a year ago.

By January 2021, only 16% of households reported income levels were 50-99% lower than the same time last year.

In the early months of the pandemic, over 40% of households in the bottom 40% of the income distribution experienced employment loss. Wealthier households were more likely to experience reductions in wages and salary rather than job joss. 

By the second half of 2020, these negative employment impacts dissipated significantly. However, as seen from the earlier section on household income trends, on average households have not yet fully recovered to pre-COVID income levels.

In 2020, agricultural production among households with family farms were also affected by environmental hazards and crop disease, in addition to declines in the price of farming output.

These negative impacts were more commonly occurring among households in the bottom 20 percent of the income distribution, who are the most active in agriculture.

The third round of the COVID-19 household monitoring survey in Viet Nam was conducted in September 2020, shortly following the emergence of the Da Nang outbreak while the fourth round was conducted in the first weeks of 2021, before the outbreak in Hai Duong Province. 

By Thuy Dung