Hanoi's trade and service sector hiring demand soars

The Hanoi Center for Employment Services has estimated that the city's labor market will continue to recover in the coming period.

Deputy Director of the Hanoi Center for Employment Services Vu Quang Thanh said that many businesses have resumed operations, which has led to significant hiring demand, especially in the trade and service sectors in the coming months until the end of the year.

Hanoi will host many job fairs to match employers and job seekers in 2024. Photo: Thuy Truc

He added that the center's survey for the first five months of this year shows positive signs in the capital's labor market.  

"Increased consumption will be a critical factor in driving and stimulating the economy, especially in sectors such as trade and services, e-commerce, tourism, transportation, and food and accommodation," he said.

In addition, Thanh said that prioritizing key infrastructure projects has resulted in faster construction progress and site handovers, which has helped to allocate public investment funds efficiently. 

"This, in turn, has led to increased hiring in the construction, processing and manufacturing industries," he pointed out.

Duong Minh Anh, in charge of human resources at Aeon Xuan Thuy Supermarket, said that the company currently has several business locations, all of which are hiring staff, especially for newly opened shopping malls. The Aeon Xuan Thuy supermarket to be opened in Cau Giay District needs more than 400 positions, including both full-time and part-time positions.

Looking ahead to the second half of 2024, Anh added that as the company plans to expand to more new business locations, it will organize larger recruitment events in various localities.

In addition to recruiting general labor, some enterprises have also been focused on hiring highly-qualified workers, according to the Hanoi Center for Employment Services.

Job seekers attend a job fair in Cau Giay district. Photo: Tran Oanh

Trinh Ngoc Tho, Deputy Business Director of Viettel Construction - Hanoi branch, said the company currently needs more manpower for five different positions, including business director, technicians, and sales, each with a monthly salary range of VND22-25 million (US$868-US$986).

He added that the need to expand operations will require the company to hire a significant number of highly skilled employees between now and the end of the year. 

"We use a variety of recruitment channels, from online to face-to-face, as well as publishing information in the media, to find the most suitable personnel," he said.

Tho said that in order to attract quality human resources, the company is also implementing policies related to increasing monthly income and other benefits.

Nguyen Tay Nam, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, said there is currently a shortage of labor in many different businesses and sectors, especially in manufacturing. This is partly because there aren't many new graduates entering the workforce right now.
He added, however, that the labor shortage is expected to ease in the third and fourth quarters as the supply of labor increases. Many young workers graduating from colleges, vocational schools and universities will join the labor market.

"This will be an abundant labor supply for enterprises. As a result, the difficulty in recruiting will be solved," he said.

In the first five months of the year, the city found job placements  for over 100,000 workers, reaching 60.8% of the annual plan, an increase of 16.8% compared to the same period in 2023, the Hanoi Department of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs reported.