Workers in high demand as factories expand production

In some industrial parks in the southern provinces of Dong Nai and Binh Duong, hundreds of companies have put up hiring notices this week.

South Korean textile firm Taekwang Vina in Dong Nai is looking for 3,000 workers as it plans to establish four more production chains this year.

The company offers a minimum monthly salary of minimum VND7 million ($304). Anyone with basic literacy can apply.

Another South Korean textile firm in the province, the Chang Shin Vietnam Company, which has 35,000 workers, is also recruiting an unspecified number of new workers as the number of orders received by the end of this year has already exceeded capacity, prompting it to build two new workshops.

In Binh Duong, official data shows local companies are looking for nearly 40,000 workers in several sectors including textiles, wood processing and household products manufacturing.

Companies are sending recruiters to sit near main roads to increase chances of contacting candidates.

"Businesses are struggling to find workers even though they are offering high salaries of VND7-13 million a month plus benefits," Nguyen Kim Loan, chairwoman of the Binh Duong Labor Federation, told local media.

In the northern province of Bac Ninh, where many multinational manufacturers have set up plants, the demand for workers is estimated at 15,000.

Foxconn, a major supplier for Apple, is hiring 1,000 workers in Bac Ninh and the neighboring province of Bac Giang. It received a license in January to build a $270-million plant produce laptops and tablets in Bac Giang.

Nguyen The Quyet, chairman of the union of workers at industrial parks in Bac Ninh, said that many companies were unable to complete orders last year due to disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and were seeking to make up now.

Another reason is a surge in new orders this year from many countries, pushing factories to expand production and employ more people, he added.

Recruitment demand was highest among electronics and vehicle parts producers, he said.

Vietnam’s industrial production index rose over 22 percent year-on-year in January as the economy recovered from Covid-19 impacts, according to the General Statistics Office.

The country’s GDP growth could hit 7.5 percent this year, compared to 2.9 percent last year, according to credit rating company Fitch Ratings.