Vietnam: Hiring intentions stay positive in second half

Nearly 64 per cent of the companies reported that their business was affected by the pandemic from a mild to severe level, while over 36 per cent said that their business operations remained unaffected, the survey revealed.

According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), Vietnam has achieved 5.64 per cent GDP growth in the first six months of 2021, higher than the growth rate of 1.82 per cent in the same period last year. Noticeably, manufacturing and processing sector is among the key drivers of the whole economy, contributing 2.9 per cent points to the economic growth rate.

Although the overall economic outlook is positive, the survey findings show employers’ less confidence to recruit in H2/2021 than in H1. In total, more than 80 per cent of the surveyed enterprises plan to increase or at least maintain current headcounts as compared with 93 per cent in the first two quarters. About one-fifth (19.7 per cent) of the respondents announced plans to trim hiring activities.

Nguyen Thu Trang, country head of Permanent Recruitment and Executive Search Services, ManpowerGroup Vietnam, said, “We are noticing an increase in permanent recruitment and executive search, especially in IT, electronics, energy, and high technology. Given the skills scarcity the labour market is facing, senior IT and business transformation roles are particularly hard to fill. Moreover, under the global impact of the pandemic and technological evolution, the job market is seeing a boost in demand for positions that require digital skills, such as those in the finance and banking sector.”

Despite the pandemic impact, employment activities are on the way to recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels. Up to 40 per cent of the employers expect their hiring plans to increase within the next three months, followed by over 24 per cent foreseeing that within the next six months. Strongest recruitment plans were reported in manufacturing and processing, wholesale, retail and trading, ICT, education and training, construction, and professional consulting services.

Le Thi Kim, head of Staffing and Outsourcing Services, North, ManpowerGroup Vietnam, added, “Since the beginning of the pandemic, the domestic labour market has been witnessing an increase in the relocation of factories from overseas to Vietnam. This means that more job opportunities are created for the local workforce. Noticeably, ManpowerGroup Vietnam has received numerous orders for staffing and outsourcing services from domestic and foreign enterprises, especially in the manufacturing and processing sector (especially electronic components), automotive assembling, packaging, warehouse, and other industries like transportation, logistics, infrastructure, and construction."

In an attempt to keep employees safe while maintaining effective business operations, surveyed employers also revealed plans to apply multiple working options for their staff in the next 3-6 months. About one-fourth of the enterprises want to retain absolute work-place based model, over 41 per cent plan to implement hybrid work mode, and nearly 22 per cent choose flexible shift patterns. Just about 9 per cent of the employers aim to arrange for their employees to work remotely full-time.

Facing the acute talent shortage caused by the global health crisis, when asked which human resources services they plan to use, surveyed employers choose staffing and outsourcing, and permanent recruitment and executive search as their best choices, with 41.4 and 40.8 per cent of companies, respectively. Meanwhile, a considerable rate (30 per cent) of employers opt for human resources consulting services (outplacement, career management, leadership development). Expatriate services (work permit and visa application) and recruitment processing outsourcing (RPO) are picked by over 15 and 11 per cent respondents, respectively.

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