Vietnam’s job market showed strong signs of recovery in the first quarter of 2021, opening up various opportunities for workers, especially highly-skilled workers.
Students join a job fair in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA)
Vietnam’s job market showed strong signs of
recovery in the first quarter of 2021, opening up various opportunities for workers,
especially highly-skilled workers.
The labour market has been steadily recovering since early in the year,
according to data from Adecco Vietnam, with the number of job openings in March
rising 40 percent against January. Growth in job applications was 26 percent.
Sectors seeing an increase in hiring demand in the quarter included
Engineering and Manufacturing, Energy, IT, E-commerce, Electronics,
Semiconductor Design, Civil Engineering, and Industrial Construction.
The combination of global supply chain shifts and the positive impact of
free trade agreements will offer new prospects for Vietnam’s economy into the
future, leading to a significant increase in employment opportunities and
hiring demand, said Nguyen Thi Thu Phuong, Adecco Hanoi’s Recruitment Manager.
In HCM City, the labour market in Q1 was livelier than in the same
period last year, according to the municipal Centre for Human Resources
Forecasting and Labour Market Information (FALMI).
Its figures show that there were over 44,000 job vacancies and nearly
19,500 jobseekers in the southern economic hub during the period, increasing
local human resources demand by 13.14 percent year-on-year. The majority of
vacancies (70.38 percent) were in the services sector, followed by industry
(29.51 percent) and agriculture (0.11 percent).
The centre forecasts that the city will need between 68,600 and 73,500
workers, mostly in the fields of IT, electronics and electricity; mechanics and
automation; healthcare and medicine; accounting and auditing; finance, banking
and securities; real estate; and tourism, lodging and catering services.
Adecco Hanoi Office Director Nguyen Thu Ha explained three main reasons
contributing to the current situation. “The first is the Government’s
successful efforts in virus prevention and containment,” she said. “Second,
businesses have gradually ramped up their operations and are eager to bounce
back after a period of economic stagnation. Third, in terms of psychology,
people now are better able to take care their health and cope with coronavirus
anxiety.”
FALMI said that demand for trained workers in HCM City made up 85.72
percent of the total, including 22.19 percent for university graduates or
higher.
Commenting on the labour market outlook for 2021, Andree Mangels,
General Director, Adecco Vietnam believed that the recovery of the economy and
the global trends of digitalization will open up opportunities for skilled
workers.
A recent survey from The Adecco Group on shifts in workplace
expectations in the post-pandemic world indicate that 82 percent of participants
appreciate the strict hygiene regulations at work.
Other noticeable expectations among workers are flexibility (80 percent),
adequate facilities for remote working (79 percent), investment in technology
(77 percent), financial support policies (77 percent), and regular updates on
business plans and performance (75 percent)./.