Vietnam’s population is predicted to reach over 96.2 million in 2020, with more 63 million in working age, or 9.5 million higher than the current figure.

At present, 1.3 million Vietnamese are unemployed, while more than 4.5 million others are seeking part-time jobs. With 9.5 million workers entering the workforce in the next ten years, Vietnam will have to create a total of 15.3 million new jobs, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).

Nguyen Dai Dong, head of the employment department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA), said that there is an imbalance between supply and demand in the Vietnamese labour market. He pointed out shortcomings in the quality of workers, productivity and gender equality. The unemployment rate is increasing among young people, especially in rural areas, he added.

Recent statistics showed that about 40 percent of Vietnamese workers did not undergo vocational training, while low-productivity jobs accounted for a large proportion in the national economy. In 2010, nearly 24 million labourers worked in the agro-forestry and fishery sector, making up 49 percent of the country’s total number of jobs. However, the average productivity in this sector only accounted for one fourth of the total jobs in the industry and service sectors.

Vietnam is building a labour and employment strategy for the 2011-2020 period, with the aim of raising the number of skilled workers to 70 percent by 2020. The country is expected to generate about 1.6 million jobs each year and increase the number of workers in the non-agricultural sectors by 4-5 percent annually.

Source VOVNews