Prioritizing committed labor
Entering the mid-year period, many businesses in Can Tho still maintain recruitment activities to meet production needs. However, instead of recruiting massively seasonally, businesses are aiming for a workforce that can be attached for a long time.
Mr. Nguyen Van Canh - Chairman of the grassroots trade union of JIA ZHI Co., Ltd. (Can Tho City) - said that the production activities of the enterprise depend heavily on the consumption needs of the world market. According to the annual rule, around July, August and January, February is the time when global purchasing power decreases, leading to a decrease in processing orders.
Although orders have decreased cyclically, the company still strives to balance production to ensure jobs for workers" - Mr. Canh shared.
According to Mr. Canh, businesses still recruit regularly at factories to compensate for the fluctuating labor volume. The factory in Vi Thanh ward (Can Tho City) currently has nearly 3,600 workers, while the maximum scale is about 3,900 people, so the new recruitment demand is mainly to replace laid-off workers.
At Phuong Dong Export Food Processing Co., Ltd. (Can Tho City), Ms. Nguyen Huynh Tu Thanh - Deputy Chairwoman of the grassroots Trade Union - said that the enterprise currently has about 780 workers. According to Ms. Thanh, the recruitment demand in the middle of the year is still stable, without major fluctuations. The company proactively balances production according to orders, so there is no situation of regular overtime.
Usually, workers finish their shifts at 5 pm. Only a few days a month last until about 5:30 pm or 6 pm. The company has proactively balanced the production plan, so there is not much overtime pressure" - Ms. Thanh said.
Need solutions to narrow the "break point" of labor supply and demand
Dr. Nguyen Thuy Vu - Institute of Training and Advanced Research of Ho Chi Minh City (IFP) analyzed that the labor market in 2026 is experiencing a "break point in expectations" between businesses and workers.
After economic fluctuations, businesses tend to prioritize recruiting stable personnel to maintain production activities, preserve organizational knowledge and reduce recruitment and training costs. Meanwhile, many workers are shifting to flexible job thinking, wanting to diversify revenue sources, be proactive in taking care of their families or pursue personal projects.
According to experts, if this gap is not narrowed, the labor market may face the paradox of "thirsty for human resources but high unemployment". Businesses find it difficult to recruit long-term workers, while a part of workers are still struggling to find short-term jobs that meet their needs.
To narrow the gap between labor supply and demand, Dr. Nguyen Thuy Vu believes that there needs to be synchronous involvement of the State, businesses and workers themselves. Accordingly, management agencies need to develop flexible job exchanges, improve social insurance policies suitable for informal workers and have mechanisms to encourage businesses to recruit and retrain middle-aged workers.
Businesses need to shift from time-based management to result-based management, be flexible in welfare policies and develop internal advisory models to utilize experienced labor.
Workers need to proactively improve their skills, especially digital and technology skills, build personal brands and adapt to market fluctuations to increase competitiveness.
