HCMC – Companies nationwide need to hire an additional 377,700 workers by the end of the first quarter of this year, according to the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Most processing export and industrial zones nationwide have resumed operations after the Tet holiday, while the proportion of workers returning to work in many provinces and cities is over 90%.

As businesses get back to work, many localities, mainly in the central and southern regions, might face a severe shortage of employees. Hiring demand is expected to rise in the first half of the year, said the ministry.

According to the HCMC Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, the city will need some 14,400 workers in the first quarter of 2023. Job vacancies are mainly in the apparel and electronics fields.

In the northern province of Bac Giang, businesses would need to employ some 17,000 workers after the Tet holiday, the local media reported.

Some 287,000 workers are forecast to either lose jobs, work for a shorter time or be asked to take leave in the first few months of the year, according to the Vietnam General Confederation of Labor.