Nearly 200,000 graduates and master's degree holders are unemployed.

Unemployment among those with professional college degrees increased by over 7.9%; unemployment among those with university degrees or higher increased by nearly 4.9%.

According to the latest Labor Market Update Bulletin from the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, there are currently more than 1.1 million unemployed people of working age nationwide. Among them, those with college degrees or higher still have the highest unemployment rate, and this rate is trending upwards.

Graduates are applying for jobs.

Specifically, unemployment among those with vocational college degrees increased by nearly 8%; those with professional college degrees increased by over 7.9%; and those with university degrees or higher increased by nearly 4.9%, while the unemployment rate among those without degrees was only about 2%. In addition, nearly 200,000 graduates and master's degree holders in fields such as business administration, marketing, information technology, securities, banking, and electricity, who spent four years studying for their undergraduate degrees and two years for their postgraduate degrees, graduating with numerous good and excellent qualifications, are mostly unemployed.

Another statistic shows that out of every 10 graduates, 6 lack skills and English proficiency; and out of every 10 bachelor's degree holders, 4 lack specialized knowledge. Therefore, out of every 10 companies recruiting, 6 are dissatisfied with the quality of training at the college, university, and postgraduate levels.

Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep stated: "The knowledge and skills we are currently training in institutions still lag significantly behind the knowledge and skills that employers demand. Therefore, the issue is that education and training systems need to link more closely with businesses and labor market management agencies to narrow the gap between the knowledge and skills acquired in schools and the knowledge and skills required by the labor market."

Development partners and businesses have suggested that perhaps we should also establish industry-specific skill standards, examining the required knowledge, skills, attitudes, and discipline for each sector when employing workers. This would allow us to design training programs that meet all the demands of employers.

According to VOV