Manual workers make up 44% of hiring demand

In a labor market report regarding the first five months of this year, the employment department under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs said businesses are mainly looking to hire workers without degrees or certificate requirements, amounting to around 836,000 people. About 19% of them should have college-level and above educational degrees, amounting to around 361,000 people.

The industrial sector's hiring demand accounts for 52% of all necessary hires, while the service industry takes up 38% and agriculture 10%. The statistics means the layoff waves are now over and orders have returned.

The labor market is recovering, with the unemployment rate for people of working ages at 2.24%, which is similar to pre-Covid levels.

During the pandemic, the highest unemployment rate was recorded in the third quarter of 2021, at 3.72%.

Average workers' monthly incomes have also reached VND7.6 million ($298.57), a VND549,000 increase from the same period in 2023.

The number of workers receiving unemployment benefits has dropped by around 12% from 397,500 in 2023 to 353,000 this year.

While the labor market has come back to life, risks still exist, evident by the fact that the number of companies closing is similar to the number of companies newly forming or re-entering the fray.

The rate of workers with educational degrees and certificates is at only 27.8%, while around 1.4 million aged 15-24 have neither jobs, education nor training, accounting for 11% of the people within the age range.