Holders of bachelor, Master’s or doctorate degrees struggling with unemployment grew to more than 218,000 in the fourth quarter of last year, making up nearly half the number of skilled workers without a job.

The latest Labor Market Newsletter of the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shows unemployment in the final quarter of last year slightly declined from the preceding quarter in terms of both number and rate.

Specifically, the jobless numbered 1.1 million, around 7,000 fewer than in the

third quarter of last year. The overall unemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2016 was 2.31%, versus 2.34% in the preceding three months.

Despite a better picture of employment, joblessness tended to rise again in the group of people with post-secondary degrees. Out of the total of more than 470,000 skilled workers without a job in the last quarter of 2016, nearly half were holders of bachelor, Master’s or doctorate degrees, an increase of 16,500 people from the preceding quarter.

The groups with “primary” and “under three months” qualifications also faced higher unemployment like those with an academic degree.

The number of people with secondary education out of work rose from 29,000 to over 40,000. The number of those with “under three months” qualifications expanded from nearly 10,000 to more than 17,000.

Only the groups with “intermediate” and “high” levels had a smaller number of jobless people, about 14,000 and 6,000 respectively.

The unemployment rate remained the highest among youths. The number of unemployed people aged between 15 and 24 was some 587,000, equivalent to an unemployment rate of 7.28%. Although this figure is slightly lower than in the third quarter of 2016, it is still higher than in the same period of 2015, and more than tripled the overall unemployment rate (2.31%).

The number of people facing long-term unemployment (12 months or more) accounted for 24% of the total number of jobless workers. Some 54% of these unemployed people had never had a job, or unemployed for the first time.

The Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs is drawing up a plan for sending high-skilled workers overseas. This is a step to take advantage of redundant labor in the country, particularly those holding post-secondary degrees.

Public employees still earn the most

The report by the labor ministry said the monthly income of salaried workers in the fourth quarter of 2016 was VND5.08 million, an increase of VND143,000 (2.9%) from the preceding quarter, and VND412,000 (8.8%) over the same period in 2015.

Workers in high-tech occupations, craftsmen, machine operators and manual laborers all had higher incomes than in the third quarter of 2016 and the same period in 2015. Those working in the finance, banking and insurance industries earned the most, 2.25 times higher than the lowest income group, agro-forestry-fishery.

The average income of employees at companies in all forms of ownership improved in the fourth quarter of last year, with the foreign-invested sector recording the highest growth compared to the third quarter and the same period in 2015.

However, wages in the State sector remained the highest. Specifically, public employees were paid VND6.56 million per month, while those working at foreign-invested companies gained a monthly income of VND6.36 million.

The lowest paid was the collective sector, or cooperatives, with VND3.66 million per person a month.

SGT