On August 5, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy (born in 1983) was present at the Can Tho City Employment Service Center hoping to find a stable job.
Previously, she worked for nearly 3 years at the company. If she worked overtime regularly, her income would reach about 10-11 million VND/month, enough to cover living expenses and send a part of the money back to her hometown to take care of her family.
But after the epidemic period, the business encountered difficulties and personnel cuts, she lost her job. Since then, she has only done seasonal jobs, has no long-term labor contracts and has not participated in social insurance.
Each month, the rent and personal expenses alone cost about 2-3 million VND. Meanwhile, she still has to send money back to her hometown to raise two children of school age.
The older you get, the more expensive it becomes. Later I also have to go to university, so I think it's also stressful. Doing the current job, I can hardly accumulate," she shared.
According to Ms. Thuy, the thing that worries her the most is that the opportunity to return to work at businesses is becoming increasingly scarce when she has passed the age of 40.
Many places only recruit workers from 18-35 years old or under 40 years old. I am older, so it is also difficult to find a job," she said.
Looking more broadly, Mr. Le Quang Trung - former Deputy Director in charge of the Department of Employment (Ministry of Home Affairs) - said that the group of workers aged 40 and over is under a lot of pressure in the context of businesses promoting automation and production restructuring.
According to Mr. Trung, at many FDI enterprises, when bringing robots and automated production lines into production, workers over 40 years old are often the first subjects to have their working hours cut or contract termination agreements.
He also said that the increase in the number of unemployed people reflects a shift towards a temporary job economy, as many workers leaving factories have to switch to being technology drivers or delivery drivers to earn income.
To help workers over 40 years old have a "springboard" when losing their jobs, Mr. Trung proposed three key groups of solutions.
First, it is necessary to personalize retraining activities, open specialized skills courses for workers aged 35 and over, such as operating automatic machines or selling goods on digital platforms instead of general training courses.
Second, it is necessary to promote medium and small-scale infrastructure and service projects in localities to create local jobs and reduce the pressure of migrant workers into large cities.
Third, it is necessary to improve the social security system in a more flexible direction, in which unemployment insurance not only provides financial support when losing work but also proactively pays for training costs, helping workers improve their skills before falling into unemployment.
From the perspective of a unit connecting labor supply and demand, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Chung, Deputy Director of the Can Tho City Employment Service Center, said that the center identifies supporting workers, especially job connection between workers and businesses, as a key task to improve recruitment efficiency.
According to Ms. Chung, the center promotes in-depth counseling on job positions, business policies as well as recruitment conditions. Providing complete and clear information helps workers understand their rights, grasp the requirements of businesses and choose suitable jobs.
