The number of job hoppers after the Lunar New Year has decreased. Businesses are also actively recruiting from the beginning of the year to prepare for new business plans, indicating positive signals in the labor market.
CHANGES IN JOB SEEKING TRENDS
Traveling from Thường Tín to the Hanoi Job Service Center to find a job at the job fair on February 22, Mr. Vu Dinh Phuc (40 years old) said he had to find a job right after the Lunar New Year because he had been unemployed for nearly 6 months.
Due to the cost pressure of raising young children, Mr. Phuc only wants to quickly find a suitable job with a stable income.
Mr. Phuc said that he used to work as a technical maintenance and repair staff for an industrial sewing machine company in Japan, with a salary of 14 – 16 million VND/month. However, when the company’s business operations encountered difficulties, he was among the employees who were let go and had to quit his job.
“Currently, I just want to find a job with an income equivalent to before. I have already received an interview from a company for a position as a technical sales staff in the electrical field, with an income ranging from 9 to 15 million VND/month. However, the company said they would call me to discuss and agree on specific job details when I start working,” Mr. Phuc revealed.
For personal reasons, Ms. Pham Thi Tam (44 years old, living in Hoang Mai district, Hanoi) also said she wants to find a management job with a salary of 18 million VND or more.
Ms. Tam stated that she made the decision to quit her job after considering various factors, not out of the desire to change jobs right after the Lunar New Year. Previously, Ms. Tam worked as a manager for an auto component manufacturing company with a salary of 18 million VND/month. She has been continuously looking for a job lately, but there hasn’t been any suitable company, so she is hoping to find a job soon.
“During my time off, I have done other jobs so life hasn’t been too difficult, but in the long run, I still want to find a stable full-time job. In addition to the salary, I also hope to find a job with regular office hours and close to home so that I have time to take care of my children,” Ms. Tam confided.
Mr. Phuc and Ms. Tam are among many workers who have started looking for jobs at the beginning of the year, which partly reflects the change in the mindset and job-seeking trends of workers, not just a rush of job hopping after the Lunar New Year.
From the perspective of employers, Ms. Vu Thi Thuy, a recruitment specialist from Viettel Post Hanoi, stated that there hasn’t been much fluctuation in terms of personnel after this Lunar New Year. Some employees quit their jobs because they wanted to find a more suitable working environment.
“The majority of employees who quit had their own plans before the Lunar New Year,” said Ms. Thuy, adding that Viettel Post is currently actively recruiting for various positions due to their business expansion plans in 2024, not just to compensate for those who have quit.
According to Ms. Thuy, this year has seen changes where many workers have had the mindset to start looking for jobs immediately from the beginning of the year. They have also actively sent in their resumes, researched job information on community forums, and more.
EMPLOYERS PAY MORE ATTENTION TO RETAINING EMPLOYEES
With many years of experience in human resources, Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, Deputy Director of Recruitment and Training Department at VNPT Building Management and Operation Joint Stock Company, also evaluated that the number of employees changing jobs or moving to other companies within their organization this year has been very low, with a personnel change rate of only about 5% at the end of 2023, compared to 15-20% in the same period last year.
Regarding the reduced number of job hoppers after the Lunar New Year this year, Ms. Lan believed that every company now clearly understands the importance of a good working environment and ensuring the rights of employees. In particular, the occupational safety of all workers is increasingly being prioritized.
“The working environment, safety conditions, and income level are three factors that businesses are striving to stabilize and improve. This is also one of the points to retain employees in companies,” Ms. Lan stated.
From the recruitment connection perspective, Mr. Vu Quang Thanh, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Job Service Center, stated that businesses in Hanoi are actively recruiting employees from the beginning of the year to supplement the labor force and meet production and business demands.
Mr. Thanh also informed that according to reports from the Hanoi Labor Union and information gathered by the Hanoi Job Service Center, the number of employees returning to work after the Lunar New Year accounts for a large proportion, over 90%.
This indicates that the rate of job hoppers after the Lunar New Year has been reduced compared to previous years. “Before, the period after the Lunar New Year was a difficult time for many businesses, especially in the industrial sector due to a lack of labor. Many workers stayed in their hometowns to find new jobs or moved to other units,” Mr. Thanh said.
However, this year, Mr. Thanh believes that this number has decreased through observation. In general, the mentality of workers participating in job fairs at the beginning of the year is that they all have a strong desire to find suitable jobs for themselves.
