HCMC labor demand to fall one-third in Q2

By Hung Le April 12, 2020 | 09:00 pm PT

Labourers work at a garment assembly line of Thanh Cong Textile Garment Investment and Trading Company in Ho Chi Minh City, July 9, 2019. Photo by Reuters/Yen Duong.

HCMC businesses are expected to recruit 47,000 workers in the second quarter, a 37.3 percent fall year-on-year as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Human resources demand will fall primarily in the fields of medicine, healthcare, food production, and online services, according to a report by the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Human Resources Forecasting and Labor Market Information (FALMI).

The city is likely to have a large demand for new staff in e-commerce, programming, web-design, game design, fintech, online entertainment, as well as office administration and delivery services, the report said.

It said labor demand in services, construction, maintenance and other support services in industrial sectors will most likely transition to short-term temporary positions, replacing permanent positions that are being cut down as a result of the epidemic.

The report also said that demand for educated people will account for 81 percent of the new positions. Up to 19.5 percent of the new positions will require a university degree or higher-level education, 18.21 percent, at least college education, 19.58 percent, at least high school education, and 23.71 percent, primary education.

FALMI director Tran Thi Thanh Truc said if the Covid-19 epidemic drags out, HCMC businesses will face a shortage of raw materials, difficulties in reducing inventory, and some will have to temporarily suspend recruitment plans or downsize as a result.

Currently, large businesses and labor-intensive enterprises are trying to maintain normal operations, but many only have raw materials to produce up until mid-April, she said.

Labor demand had already fallen in the first quarter by 23.7 percent year-on-year to 65,430 positions, the FALMI report said.

Truc said that the labor market had stayed busy in January for Lunar New Year, but demand dipped in February and March as a result of the epidemic, mostly hitting sectors such as transport, education, accommodation, tourism, textiles, and footwear.

To combat the economic effects of Covid-19, the government has directed banks nationwide to provide VND285 trillion ($12.1 billion) worth of credit to businesses affected by the pandemic.

It also plans to use VND61.6 trillion ($2.6 billion) from its funds to support businesses and workers who lose their jobs.