Participating in the questioning of Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung on the morning of June 6, delegate Bo Thi Xuan Linh (Binh Thuan delegation) pointed out that the scale of employment in many localities across the country is still largely unbalanced, the market is recovering slowly, leading to a situation where a segment of workers are facing many difficulties such as unemployment. The delegate asked the Minister to propose a solution?
Delegate Bo Thi Xuan Linh (Photo: Quochoi.vn).
Responding, Minister Dao Ngoc Dung said that our country has a large labor force, so unemployment is real. In particular, the average unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2023 is 2.25%. According to the Minister, this is still a low rate compared to the world average.
“If we look back over time, on January 11, 2021, the World Economic Forum ranked us in the top 5 in terms of unemployment rate. But up to now, our unemployment rate is only 2.25% in the first quarter of 2023, compared to the world, this level is still at a low level,” Minister Dao Ngoc Dung stated.
The Minister cited an official report released on May 26, stating that the number of people who lost their jobs, were laid off, or were underemployed was around 506,000, of whom 270,000 were unemployed. According to Mr. Dung, the cause of this situation was due to order cuts, production restructuring, changes in the workforce, and implementation of policies for workers.
Questioning the minister about unemployment figures, delegate Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nga (Quang Binh delegation) said that in 2023, our country's economy will face many challenges, the labor market and employment will face many risks, and job losses will occur on a global scale.
Meanwhile, the report of the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs shows that the unemployment rate in our country is low. Delegates asked Minister Dao Ngoc Dung to explain clearly whether the assessments and data in the report are close to reality or not? What is the solution for our country's labor market in the coming time?
Delegate Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nga (Photo: Quochoi.vn).
In response, the Minister affirmed that the unemployment rate of 2.25% is an objective and scientific assessment, according to specific international criteria.
The figure is the result of a survey conducted 1 week before the announcement, according to the assessment criteria of "unemployment" as the state of workers of working age who need to work, but do not have a job, do not even work for 1 hour, are ready to work, do not have a job or are looking for a job.
In addition to applying that criterion, the General Statistics Office also expanded a number of criteria according to the recommendations of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Accordingly, the independent evaluation opinions and cross-checking of the General Statistics Office's evaluation are basically the same.
It is forecasted that in the coming time, the production and business situation will be more difficult, especially in labor-intensive industries, including leather shoes, textiles, handbags, and export production.
The Minister shared that he had discussed with delegates from Ho Chi Minh City that the Covid-19 pandemic had eroded workers' savings, making life increasingly difficult. But we should not be too pessimistic.
“With a labor market size of over 51.2 million people, the official unemployment rate is 297,000, so we can still completely control the rate. In fact, in 2021, the whole country was worried about the risk of supply chain disruption, but Vietnam did not let that happen,” the Minister said.
Also questioning, delegate Ly Tiet Hanh (Binh Dinh delegation) said he did not object to the figures of unemployed workers that the Minister mentioned. However, behind each unemployed worker are families and many other social issues.
"There are opinions that the difficulties that workers are facing now are worse than during the Covid-19 period. So is there a need for direct support packages for workers like during the pandemic?", the delegate asked.
The Minister admitted that although workers have savings, they have used them up over time, making life difficult. "We are fully and thoroughly assessing the current situation and making accurate forecasts from now until the end of the year and next year to have long-term and short-term policies," said Mr. Dung, adding that specific policies cannot be issued yet .
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