Vietnam seeking to fix labor shortage soon: PM

Businesses are struggling to restore full operations in Vietnam due to a labor shortage in the wake of the departure of hundreds of thousands of workers from industrial hubs in October when Covid-19 curbs were lifted.

"The fourth wave of Covid-19 infections have seriously affected the labor market, with a high unemployment rate," Pham Minh Chinh told lawmakers.

Chinh said the departure en masse of laborers from industrial hubs to their home towns when travel curbs were removed has posed problems for businesses and complicated virus containment efforts.

This week, Taiwan's Pou Chen Corp (9904.TW), the world's largest manufacturer of branded sports footwear said about 6% of its Ho Chi Minh City staff had quit.

Vietnam is a major garment maker, supplying brands that include Zara, Ralph Lauren(RL.N), North Face, Lacoste and Nike(NKE.N). It is also a production center for electronics firms such as Samsung(005930.KS).

"Local authorities will cooperate with businesses and laborers to work out all necessary measures to ensure sufficient laborer supplies by the end of this year or early next year," Chinh said.

Authorities will offer financial support for laborers' travel and accommodation and press ahead with vaccinations.

Chinh said the government was seeking to restore supply chains and increase public investment to spur growth.

"Public investment has not met target," Chinh said. "The government has determined that speeding up public investment will be a key task to restore economic growth."

Earlier Friday, the investment minister said a raising of the public debt ceiling from the current level of 60% of gross domestic product was being considered to boost the economy, which contracted 6.17% in the third quarter.