VietNamNet Bridge – “Is there a vacancy for a driver’s job?” Nguyen Thanh Thong of Hoc Mon District asks an employee at a job placement centre at the local An Suong Bus Station.
Workers make semiconductors at Integrated Circuit Design Research and Education Centre in HCM City’s High Technology Park. The city’s companies have been facing a shortage of skilled workers and expect the situation to continue for the rest of the year.
The 35-year-old man has been looking for a job for six months after being laid off because his company was hit by the economic meltdown.
With help from the centre, he applied to many companies, but there has not even been an interview call.
“It is difficult to find a job at this time,” Thong said.
A report by the HCM City Centre of Forecasting Manpower Needs and Labour Market Information reveals that demand for workers at city-based companies fell by 25.45 per cent year-on-year in the first half.
Though city authorities have been trying to assist companies, their difficulties, especially with regard to funds, remain stubbornly unresolved, leading to many bankruptcies.
In the first quarter, nearly 5,000 went bust, according to the City Statistics Office, accounting for 40 per cent of all bankruptcies nation-wide.
The number of unskilled workers fell by 47.9 per cent in the first half compared to the same period last year.
On the other hand, companies have been facing a shortage of skilled workers, and expect the situation to continue for the rest of the year.
The report also showed that the number of workers changing jobs fell in the first half after employers ensured they got reasonable salaries and allowances.
The economic situation also means fewer people want to change jobs, Tran Anh Tuan, the centre’s deputy head, said.
Demand for workers in the city is expected to rise in the remaining months of the year.
Nearly 130,000 vacancies are forecast to arise at companies, 36,694 more than in the first half.
Marketing, tourism-hotel-restaurant, IT, and electronics are expected to require the largest numbers.
Source: VNS