Over 162,000 university graduates and above are unemployed.

According to the latest labor market data, more than 1.045 million people of working age nationwide are unemployed, notably including 162,400 with a university degree or higher. Youth unemployment continues to be a matter of concern.

Young people are having difficulty finding jobs.

These figures were released during the announcement of the second quarterly labor market update bulletin, organized by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs on July 1st.

According to Labor Market Report No. 2, the number of unemployed people in the first quarter of 2014 was over 1.045 million, an increase of more than 145,800 compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. The overall unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2014 was 2.21%, an increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2013 (1.9%). Of this, the urban unemployment rate was 3.72%, 2.4 times higher than in rural areas.

Among the unemployed, the number of unemployed young people in the first quarter of this year was over 504,700, an increase of 17,000 compared to the same period last year and an increase of 54,400 compared to the fourth quarter of 2013.

Notably, regarding the unemployment rate, the number of unemployed people with a university degree or higher continued to increase by 4,300 compared to the fourth quarter of 2013 and by 39,400 compared to the same period last year (123,000).

In addition, by the first quarter of 2014, there were 79,100 unemployed workers with college degrees and 174,000 unemployed workers with vocational college, professional high school, vocational secondary school, and vocational primary school qualifications.

Analyzing these figures, Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep stated that the current number of unemployed workers is not yet alarming. However, the fact that over 20% of workers aged 20-24 with a university degree or higher are unemployed is a cause for concern, as it indicates that a large number of graduates are facing difficulties entering the labor market.

Deputy Minister Doan Mau Diep also stated that the inability to predict market changes is one of the reasons hindering job opportunities. The labor market is constantly fluctuating, with new professions emerging and many jobs disappearing. Without surveying and forecasting what kind of workers will be needed in the coming years, training will certainly not be able to meet the labor market demands, and many young people will continue to face difficulties in finding employment.

Commenting on the labor market update, Gyorgy Sziraczki, Director of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Vietnam, suggested that in addition to providing data, experts should offer some analysis to help policymakers, researchers, businesses, and workers better understand the labor market situation at the time the report was released.

According to Vietnam+