Unemployment increases among degree holders
Nearly 178,000 persons with bachelor's and masters' degrees could not find jobs in the first quarter this year, the statistics released recently by the Labour and Social Sciences Institute said.
The number increased by 16,000 persons as compared with the same period last year, the statistics said.
In the first quarter, more than 1.1 million were unemployed nationwide, an increase of 14,000 persons year-on-year.
The unemployment rate this year was 2.43%, rising by 0.22% in comparison with last year.
Notably, groups with higher educational degrees had a higher rate of unemployment at 6.9%, while it was 1.97% in the non-degree groups, the institute said.
Meanwhile, a recent nationwide survey showed that the number of people who got less work also increased, especially rural labourers who usually lacked work.
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| newly-graduated students are getting consultatation for jobs in an job fair in Ha Noi. — Photokenh14.vn |
The number of people who worked less than 35 hours a week was 1.13 million.
Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep said the main reason for unemployment among degree holders was that they had newly graduated and had difficulty in joining the labour market.
The unemployment rate in the group did not truly reflect the real labour situation nationwide, Diep said.
"We have given attention to only meeting the target of 98% of workers having jobs, but did not care about utilising their working hours," he said.
However, the labour market has sent out some good signals.
The number of public servants in the state-owned sector dropped, while the number of private business employees increased.
The average monthly income of workers increased from VND4.4 million (US$200) in 2014 to VND4.9 million (US$250) this year.
The institute has forecast that by the end this year, the demand for workers in the processing and manufacturing sectors will increase considerably.
Especially, Vietnam will join the ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) Economic Community by the end of this year. This will help create more jobs for the Vietnamese people.
Initially, eight professional groups -- accountants, architects, dentists and doctors, as well as engineers, nurses, transporters and tourist workers -- will be able to move freely within the ASEAN.