Older female worker finds it difficult to find a job
Ms. Bui Thi Thu is a worker at a garment company in Yen Nghia ward (Ha Dong district, Hanoi). Having been with the company for 16 years, at the end of 2024, Ms. Thu was informed that she would be subject to personnel cuts due to reduced orders. The cut will take place in the second quarter of 2025.
At the age of 44, Ms. Thu was shocked to hear about her unemployment. She immediately asked relatives and friends to introduce her to find a new job. However, unlike Ms. Thu's initial image, as a person with many years of experience, meticulousness and hard work, he will easily have a new job, and the places introduced all shook their heads with the refusal: "Age!".
"The company has announced that it will let us quit our jobs in the second quarter of 2025, with an allowance of 6 months' basic salary. The majority of people who have been cut this time are female workers, over 40 years old. We set up a Zalo group, informing each other daily about the situation of job search. Up to this point, almost no one has found a new job. Some people decided to switch to other jobs to increase job opportunities such as working as hourly maids, cleaning for companies... - Ms. Thu shared.
Like Ms. Thu, Ms. Tran Thi Nga, born in 1981, a worker in Bac Thang Long Industrial Park (Hanoi), also lost her job before Tet due to the company's personnel cuts.
After losing her job, Ms. Nga tried to find a new job in an industrial park, but before Tet, the number of companies posting to recruit workers was not much. Not to mention, very few companies with recruitment needs only accept workers from 18 to under 30 years old.
It is not easy to find a job if you have skills
More than 2 months since losing her position as manager of a consumer goods factory in Hoai Duc district, Ms. Tran Thi Hang (Bang Liet commune, Thanh Tri district, Hanoi) has been traveling to find a job.
Ms. Hang participated in groups, went online to find a job... and asked her friends to introduce her, but so far no business has accepted her.
"There were some responses to my application. They thought that my experience was not significant because I only worked for a private company. After more than 10 years of working, I found it true that my experience is not rich. Not to mention, compared to young workers who have just joined the labor market, our generation is inferior in every aspect, said Ms. Hang.
Having the same difficulty finding a new job even though she has worked as a department head, Ms. Le Thi Hoa (born in 1979) said that the biggest obstacle when applying for a job is age. "Although I have advantages in expertise, professionalism, and work-resolution ability, it is difficult to compete with many young people who are dynamic and professional," Ms. Hoa worried.
Commenting on the difficulties of older workers in finding jobs, especially female workers, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong - former Director of the Institute of Social Labor Science (Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs) said that middle-aged workers have difficulty finding jobs in the current labor market.
The first reason to mention is that the labor market is increasingly competitive and changing rapidly. The rapid development of technology and automation has changed many industries, making the traditional skills that middle-aged workers possess outdated. Modern jobs often require skills in using new technology that middle-aged workers may lack.
In addition, young workers are often given priority for recruitment because they are newly trained, have the ability to use technology and can be willing to work with lower salaries. This creates more fierce competition for middle-aged workers.
