According to the General Statistics Office (Ministry of Planning and Investment), the COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 and the first months of 2021 has pushed many workers into jobless status, at the same time forcing many people to become workers. have informal jobs.

In the first quarter of 2021, employed workers in urban areas increased by 114,300 people compared to the fourth quarter of 2020; down 90,200 people over the same period last year. In rural areas, the number of employed people increased by 508,900 compared to the fourth quarter of 2020 and decreased by 854,300 people over the same period last year. The proportion of labor force in the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector is 31.6% (corresponding to more than 17.05 million people); 31.7% of industry and construction sector (corresponding to 17.09 million people); 36.7% service sector (corresponding to 19.81 million people). Up to now, the number of employees aged 15 and over who are working is 53.4 million people, down 1.3 million; in which, the number of workers with informal jobs is 20.9 million, an increase of 233,000 people compared to the fourth quarter of 2020.

Workers working in production lines at factories were negatively affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Photo: VNA.

Statistics show that the epidemic has caused the rate of workers with informal jobs to rise sharply in the first quarter of 2021, in contrast to the trend of decreasing this rate in recent years; businesses are forced to support with many measures, including measures to reduce labor (cut, take turns, etc.), to recruit seasonal workers, temporary workers to maintain operations. This leads to a decrease in the number of formal employees and an increase in the number of informal workers, leading to a rebound in the proportion of workers with informal employment after many years of continuous decline.

The COVID-19 epidemic also significantly increases the number of underemployed workers in economic sectors. The underemployment rate of workers in the age group is 2.51%, of which the underemployment rate in urban areas is 1.68%; Underemployment rate in rural areas is 2.93%. More than half of the underemployed people are currently working in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, accounting for 53.7%, down 15.6 percentage points over the same period last year; the industry and construction sector accounted for 20.2%, up 10.7 percentage points; the service sector accounted for 26.1%, up 4.9 percentage points. Thus, the current underemployment is not only concentrated in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, but is increasing in industry, construction and services.

For workers in the age group, the professional and technical qualifications are higher, the underemployment rate will be lower. The underemployment rate in the age group 2020 of workers without professional and technical qualifications is 2.87%; primary level is 2.25%; intermediate level is 1.58%; college is 1.52%; from university and above is 1.04%. Average monthly income of employees increased compared to the previous quarter, but still decreased compared to the same period last year. Average monthly income from employees’ work in the first quarter of 2021 reached 5.7 million dong, up 212,000 dong. VND compared with the previous quarter and decreased 108,000 VND against the same period last year.

Worryingly, the number of unemployed people in working age quarter I / 2021 was nearly 1.2 million, down 60,100 from the previous quarter and 136,800 people over the same period last year. The COVID-19 pandemic has made the unemployment rate of working age urban areas the highest increase compared to the same period in the past 10 years.

Although it increased higher than the previous year, the unemployment rate in urban areas did not exceed 4%, meeting the target set by the National Assembly in Resolution No. 85/2019 / QH-14 on the Development Plan. Socio-economic development in 2021. This, together with the GDP growth and other macro-balance indicators, can be seen as important evidence of the success of the Government in its efforts to achieve the dual goal. : disease prevention and socio-economic development.

Remove 3 “bottlenecks”

Leaders of the General Statistics Office said that, in the context of COVID-19 increasing the rate of unemployed workers, it is necessary to focus on removing 3 “bottlenecks” to actively respond and adapt to new developments. epidemic situation, both controlling the epidemic and promoting production and business.

Specifically, the ministries, branches and localities need to create conditions to continue solving difficulties for production enterprises. In which, focusing on reforming processes and procedures so that businesses can access simple, convenient and timely supporting policies to stimulate the economy as well as the demand for labor. These measures not only help businesses and employees escape the risk of bankruptcy, job loss and income reduction, but also create a driving force for production and business development.

On the other hand, localities actively implement specific support packages, diversify forms of subsidies, expand vocational training programs to suit many subjects, especially female workers and workers. Labor without technical and professional qualifications, informal labor to stabilize social security, motivate workers to work, contribute to economic recovery and development.

The most important bottleneck now, according to the leaders of the General Statistics Office, is to focus on retraining human resources, because the Vietnamese labor market has about 75% of the employees without any technical or professional training. This is a major limitation of the Vietnamese economy in the context of the epidemic still having new developments and the 4th industrial revolution taking place around the world. The low quality of the labor force will be a barrier separating opportunities to adapt and catch up with new technology trends and new business methods of the world. Therefore, in the coming time, Vietnam needs to actively renew and implement training and retraining policies to improve the quality of human resources to adapt to the requirements of economic growth and development.

The unemployment rate of working age in the first quarter of this year was 2.42%, the rate of young people who were unemployed and not participating in study or training in quarter 1 was 16.3%, equivalent to nearly 2. million young people.

Also according to the General Statistics Office, 9.1 million workers aged 15 years and over are affected by the epidemic, 540,000 people lose their jobs, 2.8 million people have to take a break, temporarily stop doing business, and 3.1 million people are affected by the epidemic. cut working hours or forced to quit, take turns, 6.5 million people have their income reduced.

Urban workers were more affected than rural areas with 15.6%, compared with 10.4% in rural areas.

Millions of workers are affected by COVID-19. (Illustration)

In terms of three regions, the region least affected is agriculture, forestry and fishery with 7.5% of workers being negatively affected by the pandemic. Industry and construction sector ranked second. Labor in the service sector was hit the hardest, with a rate of 20.4%.

Meanwhile, the average monthly income of employees in the first quarter reached about 6.3 million dong / month, a slight increase compared to the previous quarter as well as the same period last year.

Although the average income increased, this growth was uneven across sectors. Many industries are still heavily affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, causing the income of workers in that industry to decline. These are industries: art, entertainment, transportation, warehousing …

According to Mr. Pham Hoai Nam, Director of the Department of Population and Labor Statistics (General Statistics Office), the numbers on the employment situation in the first quarter of 2021 reflect many difficulties and fluctuations in the economy. in general and the Vietnamese labor market in particular.

To remove difficulties for the job market, the General Statistics Office proposed the Government, ministries and branches to immediately study the issue of “vaccine passports”, to develop the necessary criteria to open the market. The international tourism school aims to help the service and tourism industry not miss opportunities for recovery and development.

Many challenges
On April 14, at the seminar “Promoting the advantage of golden population structure and adapting to population aging” – Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Le Van Thanh informed, in the labor market, the proportion of the population with jobs making our country always at a high level and the unemployment rate maintained at a low level. However, Vietnam is in the period of golden population structure at the same time the population aging trend is happening very quickly.

The Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs develops a Project to promote the advantages of golden population structure and adaptation to population aging in the period of 2021 – 2030.

According to forecasts, the golden population period of Vietnam lasts about 33 years, will end in 2039, which means only 19 years. Along with that, the transition time from population aging to an aging population is about 26 years – this is a very short transition period compared to countries with high production levels, bringing Vietnam into the group of countries with the fastest aging population in the world.

In particular, the trend of rapid population aging in the context of low per capita income in Vietnam has created the risk of falling into the “not getting rich old” situation if we do not take advantage of Golden Population Association and effective adaptation measures to population aging.
There are two problems posed for Vietnam in the coming time. First, the time for taking advantage of the golden population structure is not much while the quality of human resources is limited and the quality of employment is not high. Up to now, the rate of trained workers with diplomas and certificates has only reached 24.5%. Second, the population aging is fast while the country’s economic resources and social security system are still limited.

Currently, only 33.2% of working age employees participate in social insurance (social insurance); about 45.5% of the elderly are entitled to a monthly pension or allowance. The system of care for the elderly is incomplete in both quantity and quality, increasing the burden of social security for the State budget and poses many challenges.
Job creation for retirees
To solve the above two issues, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs has developed a draft project to promote the advantages of a golden population structure and adapt to population aging in Vietnam in the period of 2021 – 2030. The project sets out goals, Rate of trained labor will reach 70% in 2025 and 75% in 2030; The rate of trained workers with certificates will reach 28-30% in 2025 and 35% – 40% by 2030. At the same time, increase the support of the State to ensure income for workers after retirement or at the end of working age: The person who is entitled to a pension from social insurance and social pension benefits is 55% in 2025 and 60% in 2030. Reduce the age eligible for social allowance for the elderly to 75 years old by 2025 and 65 years old for some ethnic groups. At the same time, creating suitable jobs and adequate income for the elderly who have work demands.

Agreeing with the development of a project by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, representatives of ministries, sectors and labor experts said that Vietnam has adapted to the aging population by raising the retirement age, meeting the risk of a shortage of TB. moving. To take advantage of the golden population, many working-age workers are willing to work, bringing the unemployment rate lower than other countries. “Currently, labor productivity is still low, which is the highlight. We need to deal with it by improving productivity, the quality of the labor force and effectively using that human resource ”- Former Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, Doan Mau Diep suggested. Meanwhile, Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Nga – World Bank expert proposed a solution to increase labor productivity not only by training but also by shifting labor from low to high productivity areas. .

Labor experts also encourage young employees to participate in social insurance to later leave the regime with a living pension. Young workers have high and stable incomes, right now save money, save money to use for their life in old age.