More than 162,000 university graduates and higher are... unemployed

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

Young people are having difficulty finding jobs.

This is the data given in the announcement of the labor market update bulletin No. 2, second quarter, organized by the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs on July 1.

According to the labor market bulletin No. 2, the number of unemployed people in the first quarter of 2014 was more than 1.045 million people, an increase of more than 145,800 people compared to the fourth quarter of 2013. The general unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2014 was 2.21%, an increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2013 (1.9%). Of which, the unemployment rate in urban areas was 3.72%, 2.4 times higher than in rural areas.

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

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

In addition, by the first quarter of 2014, there were 79,100 college-educated workers and 174,000 workers with vocational college, professional secondary school, intermediate vocational school, and elementary vocational school degrees who were unemployed.

Analyzing these figures, Deputy Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs Doan Mau Diep said that the current number of unemployed workers is not a worrying number. However, the figure of more than 20% of unemployed workers aged 20-24 with university degrees or higher is a number worth considering because it shows that a large number of workers after graduation are facing difficulties when entering the labor market.

Deputy Minister Doan Mau Diep also said that the inability to predict changes in the market is one of the reasons that hinder job opportunities. The labor market is constantly changing, new jobs are appearing and many jobs will disappear. If we do not survey and forecast what kind of workers the market will need in the coming years, then training will certainly not be able to meet the labor market and many young people will still have difficulty finding jobs.

Commenting on the labor market update, Mr. Gyorgy Sziraczki, Director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Vietnam, said that in addition to providing data, experts should provide some analysis so that policy makers, researchers, businesses and workers can better understand the labor market situation at the time the report is released.

According to Vietnam+