The low-skilled labor trap is both the precursor and consequence of the middle-income trap. As Vietnam stands at the precipice of this challenge, it must navigate its way out, leveraging its golden demographic advantage in human resources. The 2022 report “Asia Pacific’s Time: Responding to the New Reality,” published by PwC, underscores a crucial observation concerning Vietnam. Despite being a promising contender in the global supply chain shift, the nation finds itself approaching the brink of its capacity to absorb this transition. In particular, concerning human resources, Vietnam’s unemployment rate in 2022 was 2.6% (though the figure reported by the General Statistics Office was 2.21%), less than half of the Asia-Pacific’s average of 5.7%. However, when assessed through the lens of strategic investment, this low unemployment rate appears to reflect a sense of “internal contentment” rather than readiness for a larger-scale, deeper, and more value-added investment cycle. Vietnam’s door to opportunity is swinging open, as the nation is identified as a crucial link in the global sustainable supply chain, diminishing reliance on China. The realm of high technology is not coincidentally where the United States has extended collaboration in chip technology and semiconductor supply chains, and South Korea has inked […]
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