HCM City's labour market remains active in flexible adaptation to COVID-19
VOV.VN - The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted all aspects of social life, causing a range of difficulties for both local businesses and employees, thereby forcing them to flexibly adapt to and move into the "new normal".
The southern metropolis is in the process of putting solutions in place to promote production and greater socio-economic development, in which enterprises will play a key role.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for Human Resources Forecasting and Labor Market Information (FALMI), this year will see the city's labour market develop towards gradually increasing the proportion of workers in the industrial-construction and service sectors. This effort will be done alongside reducing those engaged in agriculture, forestry, and fishery.
The city will have more than 4.9 million workers, mainly in the trade-service and industry-construction sectors. Of these, the number of labourers at enterprises is estimated to be at 3.1 million.
Do Thanh Van, deputy director of FALMI, said the recruitment demand in the southern city is forecast to reach 255,000 to 280,000 this year. In line with this, labour demand could increase to 280,000 to 310,000 depending on if the situation develops in a positive direction.
Dr Tran My Minh Chau from the Economy and Environment Partnership for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA) under the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, anticipates that there will be employment changes in the southern city, as well as neighbouring provinces, in the near future. This will show the contrast with the period before the fourth wave of COVID-19 infections began.
Three groups of industries, namely the manufacturing and processing industry, finance and banking, insurance and technology development, will be able to enjoy a rapid recovery as they have been less affected by the pandemic.
The industries that will see a very fast improvement are education, healthcare, family services, real estate, and construction. The industries that will see slow recovery include wholesale, retail, automobile and motorbike repair, transportation, warehousing, accommodation, and catering services.
According to a representative of the International Labour Organisation in Vietnam (ILO), the prospect of job recovery is therefore a challenge not only in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam, but also in many countries around the world. Therefore, close attention should be paid to developing policies, training programmes, and investment in the field of job training.
It can be viewed as imperative to increase the opportunities for workers based on local economic advantages, and improve workers' capacity to adapt to Industry 4.0, the representative said.
The first phase of the economic recovery and development programme with largely focus on overcoming the consequences and disruption of production and supply chains is underway in the city.
The programme also supports enterprises that have been temporarily suspending operations in order to re-enter the market, restore production, create jobs, along with paying due attention to social security and cultural activities on the basis of safe adaptation and effective control of the pandemic.