Businesses increase the recruitment of unskilled labor
At the beginning of 2026, many export manufacturing enterprises in the North of Ho Chi Minh City are recruiting workers. In Tay Nam ward, dozens of businesses have participated in job transaction sessions to find labor sources, or asked trade unions to connect and introduce labor.
Mr. Truong Van Phi - Vice Chairman of Tay Nam Ward Trade Union - informed that the total recruitment demand at the beginning of the year in the ward is about 5,000 workers. Notably, Chang Bao Vietnam Co., Ltd. needs to recruit 500 unskilled workers, including 100 garment workers, 400 assembly and packaging workers... The company also recruits inexperienced workers who can go to work immediately.
M2 Global Co., Ltd. (producing functional rehabilitation shoes, Rach Bap Industrial Park, Tay Nam ward) is also in need of recruiting 100 workers. Ms. Luong Thi Hoang Anh - Personnel Officer of the company said that when working at the company, employees have an income of 9 to 15 million VND/month.
According to Mr. Luu The Thuan - Chairman of Bau Bang Commune Trade Union, quite a few businesses in the area and surrounding areas are in need of recruitment. The total recruitment demand of businesses is about nearly 3,000 workers.
In Binh Duong and Tan Hiep wards, dozens of businesses are still hanging recruitment signs and sending officials to wait in front of the company gate to welcome workers. However, according to records, currently very few workers are looking for jobs.
Asia Asia Door Technology Co., Ltd. (Tan Hiep ward, Ho Chi Minh City) informed that at the beginning of this year, the enterprise needed to recruit nearly 250 workers. Due to the scarcity of labor, factories had to extend the recruitment time and the enterprise proactively increased wages for workers.
The company increases wages to help workers have more income and stabilize their lives. Thereby, being attached to businesses and factories to stabilize the labor force for production and being a highlight to attract new labor sources" - Mr. Dao Quang Tho, Human Resources Director of Asia Italy Door Technology Co., Ltd. shared.
PouYuen Vietnam Co., Ltd. also needs to recruit 4,000 workers to meet production needs. However, the recruitment has not met the demand when from the beginning of the year to now, only about 1,000 workers have been recruited.
The demand for recruiting trained workers is very limited
Ms. Nguyen Van Hanh Thuc - Director of Ho Chi Minh City Employment Service Center - said that in the first quarter of 2026, the recruitment demand of businesses in Ho Chi Minh City was 82,762 job positions, 1.6 times higher than the job search demand of 52,641 people.
Analysis shows that, in terms of recruitment, more than 82% of the total demand focuses on the general labor group or those with basic education. The demand for recruiting trained labor with college degrees accounts for 9.01%, university degrees 4.41%. The demand for recruitment for labor with postgraduate degrees is very limited. Meanwhile, the demand for job search with university degrees is 13.08%, college degrees 4.73% of the total demand.
The assessment of the Ho Chi Minh City Employment Service Center has pointed out that the difference between the recruitment requirements of enterprises and the quality of labor supply shows that the labor market still has a certain gap between supply and demand, especially for positions requiring professional qualifications or vocational skills. In the high-level segment, the supply of labor with university degrees accounts for 13.08%, while the recruitment demand at this level only accounts for 4.41%. Therefore, the high-level labor group may face greater competition or accept to work in positions with lower qualification requirements to ensure income.
In the second quarter of 2026, recruitment demand in Ho Chi Minh City is still high, the labor market is still in a state of demand exceeding supply. It is expected that Ho Chi Minh City needs about 60,000 - 75,000 job positions. The second quarter of 2026 is forecast to continue to maintain many job opportunities, especially in the manufacturing and service sectors. However, the big challenge still lies in the disparity between workers' skills and businesses' recruitment requirements," the Ho Chi Minh City Employment Service Center assessed.
