Many jobs in Nghe An are experiencing a shortage of seasonal workers during the year-end period.

The search for people

Late November each year marks the beginning of the sugarcane harvest season. In the Tan Ky sugarcane growing area, the demand for sugarcane cutters increases, however, finding available laborers during this time is not easy.

The family of Mr. Hoang Van Chung in Van Long hamlet, Giai Xuan commune (Tan Ky district) owns 2 hectares of sugarcane, making them one of the households with the largest sugarcane area in the commune. As soon as the harvest order was given, Mr. Chung tried to hire people to cut the sugarcane, but he could only find about 10 people. With such a large area of ​​sugarcane, that number of workers would make it difficult to meet the deadline.

Mr. Chung said: "Finding laborers is very difficult now. Most young workers have gone abroad for work or are working far away, no longer in the local area. This job is quite strenuous and requires good health, so older people find it difficult to do. When sugarcane farmers are notified of harvest, they also have to take care of their own sugarcane fields and don't have time to take on seasonal work. Therefore, we have to find additional laborers from neighboring communes. However, to date, we still don't have enough people to cover the total area."

It is known that sugarcane cutting for hire is a very "hot" job at the end of the year in Tan Ky district in particular and sugarcane-growing areas in general. This work only takes place for about 2-3 months at the end of the year. Although the work only involves cutting and bundling sugarcane, it requires good health, always wearing long-sleeved clothing and gloves to avoid scratches. Currently, the price for cutting sugarcane is 2,000 VND/bundle, and those with good productivity can cut 200-300 bundles/day, earning from 400,000-600,000 VND/day. Despite the relatively high wages, it is still difficult to find workers.

Mr. Vu Ngoc Son, Chairman of the People's Committee of Giai Xuan commune, said: "Our locality has the largest sugarcane area in Tan Ky district with 830 hectares, producing about 60,000 tons annually. Therefore, during each harvest season, the demand for sugarcane cutters is very high. Households with large areas of land have to go to neighboring communes to hire sugarcane cutters. This work requires good health and endurance, so not everyone can do it. Hiring older people would not guarantee the timely delivery to the factory."

At this time, incense-making villages in the province are entering their peak season to serve the Lunar New Year, and the shortage of labor, especially skilled workers, is making it difficult for production owners to cope.

Ms. Tran Thi Loan, owner of an incense production facility in Tan Lac town, Quy Chau district, said: "My facility produces more than 7 million incense sticks annually, so during the Tet holiday season, we always need 20-30 workers working continuously. However, finding people to do this job is very difficult now, as there aren't many young workers in the area. At times when we need a large quantity of goods, all family members have to work directly to meet customer demand because we don't have enough workers."

Quỳ Châu District is considered the incense capital of Nghe An province, with six recognized incense-making villages, including Block 1, Block 2, Block 3, Tan Huong 1 Block, Tan Huong 2 Block in Tan Lac town, and Hanh Tien village in Chau Hanh commune. Currently, incense production facilities are in the peak season for Tet (Lunar New Year); besides the labor shortage, the high price of raw materials is also a major challenge for those in the industry.

Besides the jobs mentioned above, many industries currently require a large number of seasonal workers, especially during the period leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year), for example, seafood processing, confectionery, food, delivery, packaging, flower and plant care, domestic services, house cleaning, etc.

Find ways to adapt

According to the Employment Service Center - Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, there are many reasons why recruiting seasonal workers is currently difficult. The main reason is that most young workers in localities have gone abroad for work or to work far from home. In addition, the general sentiment among workers is that they want stable, long-term jobs with benefits, and therefore are not very interested in short-term seasonal work (about 1-3 months). Furthermore, some specialized seasonal jobs require skilled workers with expertise, but this is very difficult for unskilled laborers who lack training and need apprenticeship periods.

Mr. Vu Ngoc Son, Chairman of the People's Committee of Giai Xuan commune, Tan Ky district, said: "Given the shortage of labor for sugarcane harvesting, households are now increasingly contacting sugarcane harvesting machines to ensure progress, even though the cost is higher. In addition, households are forming groups to exchange labor with each other; those who haven't received harvesting notices are helping those who have already harvested. Households with large areas of land are also seeking workers from neighboring communes, especially those with smaller sugarcane areas."

Mr. Nguyen Van Cong, owner of a flower and ornamental plant garden on National Highway 46, Nghi An commune, Vinh City, said: "The period leading up to Tet (Lunar New Year) is when the demand for these items increases significantly. My family is also looking for extra laborers to help, but finding unskilled workers is difficult, and finding skilled workers to prune and care for plants during this time is even harder. To get people to work, we have to pay double the usual wages. Even so, we've only managed to hire 3 people to help out so far."

During the discussion, Mr. Tran Huu Thuong, Deputy Director of the Employment Service Center under the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, stated that the labor market at the end of the year is very vibrant, especially for seasonal workers. Jobs such as delivery, packaging, food processing, and service businesses are in high demand.

Given the labor shortage, units and establishments need to increase the application of machinery and scientific and technical methods to replace human labor. For jobs that absolutely require labor, establishments should increase postings on social media platforms with reasonable salaries and benefits to attract workers, especially focusing on those currently receiving unemployment benefits.

In the long term, given the labor shortage, localities need to implement a comprehensive set of solutions to encourage and attract workers to stay in their hometowns, such as: strengthening vocational training, creating local jobs with stable incomes; and replicating effective economic models for farmers with limited land. At the same time, they should leverage the role of businesses in training partnerships and promote credit and loan programs to create jobs.