Hoping to have a job to take care of the family
Mr. Nguyen Van Hai (37 years old, residing in Hoang Mai ward, Hanoi) said that he used to work as a warehouse employee for a private enterprise for nearly 10 years.
A stable job helps Mr. Hai have income to take care of his family, raise two young children of school age and help his elderly parents. However, after the company cut staff, he was forced to quit his job and switch to freelance work to cover his living expenses.
Although he has submitted applications to businesses many times with the desire to have a stable job, Mr. Hai said that many places prioritize young workers or limit the recruitment age, making his opportunities increasingly narrower.
I have experience, my health is still guaranteed and I am willing to work long-term, but many places look at age before assessing my ability. Many places I went to interview were informed that I would contact later, but in the end I did not see any feedback," Mr. Hai said.
As the economic pillar of the family, every month he has to worry about tuition fees for his two children, living expenses, medicine for his parents and many other expenses. Therefore, what worries him the most is not heavy work, but the risk of unemployment as he gets older.
I am not afraid to work, I just hope to have a stable job to take care of my family," Mr. Hai shared.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh, 32 years old, is a single mother raising a 7-year-old child. Ms. Thanh and her child are living with her parents in Phuong Liet ward (Hanoi).
Ms. Thanh's parents used to do handicrafts, now they are old and weak and no longer able to work. With a garment worker's salary of about 11 million VND/month, Ms. Thanh has to take care of her children's education and care for her elderly parents.
I almost have no savings and register for maximum overtime. Fortunately, my children and I live with grandparents, so we don't have to worry about expensive rent. What I fear most is that if I unfortunately lose my job for some reason, I don't know where to look to have money to pay for my children's education and medicine for my parents," Ms. Thanh shared.
Shocked" by suddenly stopping stable income
Mr. Tran Quy Doan (Thuong Phuc commune, Hanoi) said that for the past 6 years, he has "operated" his family life smoothly thanks to a good job after graduating from university, with a stable income of 40 million VND/month at a technology corporation.
With that cash flow, I am confident in taking care of all living expenses for my family of three in Hanoi, raising children to attend private schools, and regularly sending 3 million VND/month back to my hometown to contribute to supporting my elderly parents," Mr. Doan said.
At the end of 2025, the group's decision to thoroughly restructure by automation caused Mr. Doan to lose his job right before the Lunar New Year at the age of 38.
Losing his job, being suddenly cut off income, the biggest pressure for Mr. Doan does not lie in his psychology, but in the problem of the monthly hard costs surrounding him.
According to Mr. Doan, each month he has to pay a fixed installment to buy an apartment of nearly 8 million VND, tuition fees for his children at private schools and money sent to his parents in his hometown. Mr. Doan's wife is a private kindergarten teacher, her salary is only enough to cover simple meals and living expenses for the family.
Next school year, I plan to let my child drop out of private school and move to a public school near my house. Parent support will also be reduced depending on the actual situation. The remaining accumulated money I have to balance spending properly to wait to find a new job," Mr. Doan said.
From the beginning of 2026 to now, Mr. Doan has scattered CVs applying for jobs at dozens of companies. The biggest barrier is not being recruited, according to Mr. Doan, in addition to the reason that his age is approaching the age of 40, businesses are also worried that he will not keep up with the rapid digitalization cycle they are implementing.
During the interview process, I found that businesses are willing to recruit young workers without experience for retraining according to their orientation, while saving salary costs. With experienced and senior workers like me, they cannot offer salaries like new graduates. Seeing companies hunting for Gen Z workers at cheap prices, I proactively reduced my income to 15-20 million VND/month, but employers are still hesitant...", Mr. Doan said.
