Minimum wage increases from 2026, labor costs form new levels

From January 1, 2026, Decree 293/2025/ND-CP of the Government officially took effect, adjusting the minimum monthly salary and minimum hourly wage for employees working under labor contracts. From a business perspective, this regulation requires businesses to review salary policies and manage labor costs to comply with the new legal framework.

Labor costs are adjusted according to the policy roadmap

According to Decree 293/2025/ND-CP, the minimum wage is adjusted to increase by region, applied to enterprises employing under contracts. This adjustment leads to changes in salary costs for the group of workers receiving salaries close to the legal floor.

In addition to salary, social insurance, health insurance, and unemployment insurance contributions are also calculated based on the new salary. Therefore, the total labor cost of enterprises may increase in certain locations, especially in industries that employ a lot of unskilled labor.

However, the adjustment level has been announced in advance, helping businesses have time to prepare and proactively balance in the 2026 financial plan.

Enterprises proactively review labor use models

For many businesses, the effective of Decree 293/2025/ND-CP is an opportunity to re-evaluate the labor structure, productivity and employability of human resources. Instead of focusing only on salary costs, some businesses are focusing more on optimizing processes, reallocating shifts, or investing in technology to improve labor productivity.

For small and medium-sized enterprises, adjusting labor costs is considered a part of the overall management problem, along with raw material, logistics and financial costs. Proactive adaptation helps businesses maintain stable operations, while ensuring compliance with legal regulations.

Minimum hourly salary and flexible management requirements

Decree 293/2025/ND-CP continues to clearly stipulate the minimum hourly wage, applicable to part-time workers. This regulation creates a clearer legal basis for flexible and popular labor use models in the retail, service, logistics and tourism sectors.

For businesses, this requires tighter management of working hours and hourly wages, while developing a labor plan suitable to actual needs. In many cases, good hourly labor management can help businesses use human resources more effectively, instead of increasing unnecessary costs.

Balancing benefits between businesses and workers

Decree 293/2025/ND-CP was issued with the goal of ensuring a minimum living standard for workers, while creating a unified legal framework for the labor market. For businesses, adjusting labor costs according to the new regulations is part of the policy adaptation process, taking place in parallel with improving productivity and business efficiency.

In the context of the continuous fluctuations in the labor market, the ability to proactively adjust and balance the benefits between businesses and employees is considered an important factor to help businesses develop sustainably in the coming period.

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