Demand for laborers in Ho Chi Minh City has continued to increase in the first quarter of 2010 with city export processing zones (EPZ)s and industrial parks (IP)s in need of around 12,000 more workers.
Businesses now need to recruit more workers for production to overcome the effects of the economic downturn.
In HCMC’s Binh Tan District alone, 11 enterprises say they are in need of 5,500 laborers.
Nguyen Thi Dan, head of the Labor and Wage Division under the HCMC Department of Labor, War Invalid and Social Affairs, announced the shortage at a March 4 meeting between the department, city district officials; and local job centers.
In the first two months of the year, the city employed more than 35,000 laborers. Of this number, 6,000 were employed in newly created jobs, said Dan.
The city has also seen over 5,000 jobs lost since the beginning of the year, Dan added.
However, according to reports from local districts and job centers, the laborer shortage – mostly of unskilled workers – has continued to increase.
The trend is due in part to the establishment of industrial zones in other provinces, which offer the same benefits as city enterprises in addition to a lower cost of living. Thus, many unskilled workers have opted to work outside the city.
