The local workforce has annually grown by less than 1% over the past five years due to population aging, according to a report by the Institute of Labor, Science and Social Affairs.

Elderly people are seen working out at a park in this file photo. Workforce growth has slowed while the number of old people has increased

At a ceremony on the report “Trend of labor and social affairs in Vietnam in 2012-2017” held yesterday in Hanoi City, Dao Quang Vinh, director of the institute, said Vietnam has to face rapidly aging population while the social insurance system is not effective enough.

Therefore, the number of people continuing working after retirement tends to rise, from 44.89% in 2012 to 46.24% in the second quarter of this year.

Population aging also affects the age-based employment structure, with the number of less-than-35-year-old workers falling. Besides, the number of female employees aged over 55 and men over 60 had increased, nearly equal to the number of young people aged 15 to 24.

In addition, industrialization and urbanization have attracted more workers from rural areas to cities, leading to an average increase of 2.5% in workforce in cities and 0.36% in rural areas. However, the number of male workers migrating to urban areas has surged compared to women in recent years.

The quality of Vietnamese laborers remains low as only 23% of them have qualifications and certificates. Especially, the employment structure based on professional ability is unsuitable to the socio-economic development in Vietnam.

The report also shows that more than 50% of employees graduate from universities and colleges, 5.42% from vocational schools and 5.6% from short-term training classes.

Each year sees a high jobless rate among holders of bachelor’s or master’s degrees.

SGT