HANOI – Over 45% of businesses said they are offering higher salaries than before the Covid-19 pandemic to bring workers back to work, according to a survey of the Private Economic Development Research Board.
Although the economy has gradually recovered after the Government relaxed anti-pandemic measures in October, both employers and workers are facing a number of challenges, as shown in the board’s survey conducted on nearly 3,500 enterprises and some 8,830 workers in October 2021.
Some 30% of the enterprises said they are struggling with recruitment, especially for highly skilled workers. Over 45% of respondents said they have to offer higher salaries to attract laborers.
Besides the labor shortage, businesses are facing many other challenges, such as the soaring input price for production (56% of respondents), low consumption demand (43%), and Covid testing costs for employees (41%).
Regarding laborers, 59.3% of respondents said they had to rely on loans and financial support from their families during the pandemic, while 41% could not find a job.
Besides, 59% expected they would have a labor contract when doing a new job and 54% suggested that enterprises should commit to paying social insurance and unemployment insurance.
Some 22% of businesses said they have recovered to the pre-pandemic level and 45% expected to recover in the next one to six months.
Based on these findings, as well as recommendations from nearly 40 business associations, the Private Economic Development Research Board suggested the Government create a safer business environment and enhance the healthcare and health issue response capacity of enterprises.
If the enterprises are not able to establish their own health department, they can sign contracts with health facilities to quickly respond to and deal with issues related to pandemic prevention and control.
The Government should ask the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs and other ministries to improve prevailing policies related to working time and allowances for workers amid the pandemic, especially overtime policies.
Besides, the ministries need to develop new regulations for new working methods such as online and work from home, which have emerged since the pandemic broke out.
The connection between recruiters, job seekers and education facilities should be strengthened to help laborers find suitable jobs while businesses can find suitable candidates.
