Research
In the first quarter 43% of job seekers were aged 30–39 and 37% were in the 20–29 age group, according to statistics from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
They are from the quarterly labor market bulletin compiled by the ministry’s Institute of State Organizational and Labor Sciences based on data from 18,000 job seekers on recruitment websites, 25,000 employers and 200,000 job postings.
The candidates were most concentrated in business administration, sales, procurement and brokerage, marketing, and advertising, while employers were mainly looking for workers in engineering, transportation and sales.
Pham Ngoc Toan, director of the institute’s Center for Strategic Forecasting and Public Service Information, said job seekers used a variety of methods, including in-person visits, public employment service centers, and online job portals.
The 30–39 age group accounting for a large proportion of job seekers is a trend normally seen early in the year, he said, explaining that it usually has work experience and skills and often seeks changes in position, salary or working environment making it more prone to job-hopping.
“This doesn’t necessarily mean they are unemployed — it is often about job transition, as reflected in the drop in the unemployment rate compared to the previous quarter.”
However, this figure also reflects challenges in the labor market.
The under-40 group is more vulnerable to the so-called “mid-career job trap” as traditional jobs are increasingly being replaced by technology and younger workers enter the market.
Whether workers are replaced or not depends heavily on their ability to adapt to evolving job requirements, which can be vastly different even compared to just two years ago.
Global economic conditions and U.S. tariff policies are also expected to impact Vietnam’s labor market in the coming months.
Toan advised workers to improve their IT skills to better prepare for future opportunities.
In Q1 demand was highest for workers with university degrees or higher (nearly 53%), followed by those with college or vocational training (40%).
Only 7% of positions required no technical qualifications.
Around 51% of job seekers held university degrees or higher, and 29% had vocational or college qualifications.
A mismatch was noted in temporary jobs, with demand accounting for just 8% of vacancies while 32% of job seekers were looking for such roles.
The outlook for the next quarter depends largely on domestic business activities, which could be influenced by U.S. tariff policies, particularly in labor-intensive sectors like electronics and garments.
On the other hand, recruitment is expected to rise in sales, customer service, logistics, transportation, and construction, driven by increased public spending in construction projects.
Nearly 145,000 people applied for unemployment benefits in Q1, down by almost 30,000 from the final quarter of 2024.
Nearly 124,000 were approved for benefits, while only 3,600 opted for vocational training support.
Unskilled workers remained the largest group applying for unemployment benefits (60%) followed by university graduates (19%), college graduates (over 7%), vocational secondary graduates (6%), and those with basic vocational certification (8.5%).
In terms of occupations, workers in the garment and related industries accounted for the largest share of claimants at 21%, followed by assemblers (7%) and sales staff and accountants (3.6% each).
