Improving labour productivity crucial to sustainable economic growth: experts

Illustrative image (Source: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – Increasing labour productivity isan important factor to promote economic growth in the long run, and is aprerequisite for Vietnam to narrow its development gap with other regional countriesand fulfill the goal of becoming a developed country with highincome by 2045, said Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran QuocPhuong.

After 30 years of renewal, Vietnam has recorded importantachievements in socio-economic development, with less dependence on naturalresources, crude oil export and low-cost workforce, and stepped up the application of scientific and technological advances and innovation, Phuong said at aconference in Hanoi on November 29 to seek ways to promote labour productivityfor sustainable growth in Vietnam.

He said that successes in the past have prompted the countryto look to the goals of national industrialisation and modernisation, and improving thepeople’s living conditions.

Vietnam has also defined key factors to realise the goals,with special attention paid to maintaining a high growth rate basing on improvinglabour productivity and nurturing a renovated economy in order to increase thecompetitiveness of the economy in association with ensuring independence andself-reliance, stressed the official.

Meanwhile, Dang Duc Anh, Vice Director of the CentralInstitute of Economic Management (CIEM), said that Vietnam’s labour productivityrose 2.5 times from 70.3 million VND per labourer in 2011 to 171.8 million VND in2021. The labour productivity growth rate reached 6% in the 2011-2020 period.

An overview of the conference (Photo: VNA)

However, Vietnam has still been left behind by many regionalcountries in the field, and the gap is being widened, he noted, adding thatthe labour productivity increase has yet to be equal among industries andregions.

Although a fundamental policy framework for the improvementof labour productivity was issued in the 2011-2021 period, the policies andinstitutions in the field have yet to be completed and synchronous, effectingthe efficiency of coordination among parties in implementing relevant solutions,Anh said.

Dr. Vo Tri Thanh, Director of the Institute for Branding andCompetition Strategy, said key barriers for businesses to boost productivity includeuncertainty in technology investments, poor innovation capacity reflected inpoor management quality, a lack of necessary skills of the workforce, and ashortage of capital.

Participants at the event agreed that the building of a national programme onlabour productivity improvement is a crucial need in the current period, whichis expected to enable Vietnam to enhance the competitiveness of the economy, catch upwith and surpass other countries in the region.

According to the programme, labour productivity is expectedto grow 6.5-7.5% each year./.

VNA