Labor cuts in Vietnam’s southern metropolis show signs of cooling: official

By Le Tuyet December 2, 2023 | 09:01 pm PT

Workers of Tan Thuan Export Processing Zone in District 7, HCMC after work, November 2023. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

The labor cut wave in HCMC has shown signs of slowing down as the number of people registering for unemployment benefits decreased by nearly one-quarter compared to mid-year, an official said.

"Labor cuts have begun to cool down in the last months of the year," Le Van Thinh, director of the city’s Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, said at a meeting on Friday.

November, more than 13,300 people registered to receive unemployment benefits, down nearly 25% compared to June at over 17,700 people.

The number of jobless people filing for unemployment benefits in September and October were more than 12,000 and 14,200 respectively.

Some manufacturing businesses have received orders to serve year-end festivals, so the labor market shows positive signs, said Thinh, adding some companies also have new recruitment needs including seasonal jobs at the end of the year.

Businesses in HCMC need to recruit 20,000-25,000 workers for the busy year-end season.

So far this year, the whole city had more than 156,300 people registering to receive unemployment benefits, an increase of almost 10% over the same period.

HCMC's Party chief Nguyen Van Nen said at the meeting the city’s GRDP this year is forecast to grow 5.8%, lower than the 7.5% set target.