Decree No. 293/2025/NĐ-CP stipulates the regional monthly and hourly minimum wages applicable to employees working under labor contracts. The Decree takes effect on January 1, 2026, replacing Decree No. 74/2024/NĐ-CP. Under this new regulation, the minimum wage will increase by VND 250,000 to VND 350,000 per month.
Download Decree 293/2025/NĐ-CP
1. Applicable Subjects of Decree No. 293/2025/NĐ-CP include
- First, employees working under labor contracts as stipulated by the Labor Code.
- Second, employers as stipulated by the Labor Code, including:
- Enterprises under the Law on Enterprises.
- Agencies, organizations, cooperatives, households, and individuals who hire or employ workers under agreements.
- Other agencies, organizations, and individuals related to the implementation of the minimum wage stipulated in this Decree.
2. Regional Minimum Wage Levels from January 1, 2026
Decree 293/2025/NĐ-CP stipulates the monthly minimum wage and hourly minimum wage across 4 regions as follows:
| Region | Monthly Minimum Wage (Unit: VND/month) | Hourly Minimum Wage (Unit: VND/hour) |
| Region I | 5,310,000 | 25,500 |
| Region II | 4,730,000 | 22,700 |
| Region III | 4,140,000 | 20,000 |
| Region IV | 3,700,000 | 17,800 |
3. Details of the Minimum Wage Increase by Region
According to Decree 293/2025/NĐ-CP, the monthly minimum wage in the 4 regions is stipulated as follows:
- Region I: increases by 350,000 VND, from 4,960,000 VND/month to 5,310,000 VND/month;
- Region II: increases by 320,000 VND, from 4,410,000 VND/month to 4,730,000 VND/month;
- Region III: increases by 280,000 VND, from 3,860,000 VND/month to 4,140,000 VND/month;
- Region IV: increases by 250,000 VND, from 3,450,000 VND/month to 3,700,000 VND/month.
The hourly minimum wage changes as follows:
- Region I: increases from 23,800 VND/hour to 25,500 VND/hour;
- Region II: increases from 21,200 VND/hour to 22,700 VND/hour;
- Region III: increases from 18,600 VND/hour to 20,000 VND/hour;
- Region IV: increases from 16,600 VND/hour to 17,800 VND/hour.
Thus, the aforementioned minimum wage increase ranges from 250,000 VND – 350,000 VND/month (corresponding to an average rate of 7.2%) compared to the current minimum wage stipulated in Decree 74/2024/NĐ-CP.
4. Regulations on Geographical Application
The list of geographical areas for Region I, Region II, Region III, and Region IV is provided in the Appendix issued with this Decree.
According to the Decree, the application of regional areas is determined by the employer’s place of operation as follows:
- Employers operating in a specific region must apply the minimum wage stipulated for that region.
- If an employer has units or branches operating in areas with different minimum wages, each unit or branch shall apply the minimum wage of the area where it operates.
- Employers operating in industrial parks, export processing zones, high-tech parks, or centralized digital technology parks located across areas with different minimum wages shall apply the highest minimum wage level.
- For areas that have been renamed or divided, the minimum wage of the area before the change shall be temporarily applied until a new regulation is issued by the Government.
- For newly established areas formed from one or more areas with different minimum wages, the highest minimum wage level shall be applied until a new regulation is issued by the Government.
5. Principles of Applying the Minimum Wage
The Decree stipulates:
- The monthly minimum wage is the lowest level for agreeing upon and paying wages to employees who work sufficient hours and complete their work; payment must not be lower than this level.
- The hourly minimum wage is the lowest level for agreeing upon and paying wages to employees paid by the hour; payment must not be lower than this level.
- For wage forms such as weekly, daily, piecework, or package-based, when converted to a monthly or hourly basis, the wage must not be lower than the corresponding minimum wage.
- Conversion methods:
- Monthly Wage = (Weekly Wage × 52 weeks) / 12 months, or (Daily Wage × Number of normal working days in the month), or based on piecework/package output within the normal working hours.
- Hourly Wage = (Weekly or Daily Wage) / (Number of normal working hours), or (Piecework/Package Wage) / (Number of working hours required to complete the task).
This Decree takes effect from January 1, 2026.
