Jobless insurance claims up, employment down

The increasing number of enterprises filing for bankruptcy in HCM City in the first quarter of the year has resulted in a surge in unemployment insurance claims.
The increasing number of enterprises filing for bankruptcy in HCMCity in the first quarter of the year has resulted in a surge inunemployment insurance claims.

More than 5,000enterprises in the city filed for bankruptcy in the first quarter of theyear, 4.6 times higher than that of the same period last year,according to a report released by the city's People's Committee.

A total of 36,132 laid-off workers in the city claimed unemploymentbenefits during the period, an increase of 57 percent against the sameperiod last year, said Nguyen Cao Thang, deputy director of the HCM CityEmployment Service Centre.

In March, the number of applications soared to 17,000, a rise of 60 percent against the same period last year.

The upward trend in unemployment insurance claims will likely continue over the next few months, he said.

Most laid-off workers registering for benefits are those working in thelabour-intensive and industrial production sector such as textiles andgarments, and footwear.

Job cuts and the closing of many enterprises have resulted in a huge leap in unemployment insurance claims.

More than 60 percent of small – and medium-sized enterprises haveslowed down production and cut their workforce due to insufficientcapital, according to figures released by the city's Association ofEnterprises.

According to Tran Thanh Duc, deputydirector of the Employment Service Centre under the HCM City Export,Processing and Industrial Zones Authority, the centre in previous yearsreceived between 40 and 50 recruitment orders, but now only gets a feworders a week.

The recruitment demand of enterprises inexport processing zones and industrial parks has dropped steadily thisyear, he said.

Only eight enterprises recruited workersdirectly and 30 other enterprises participated online at the third jobfair in the city held early this month, said Tran Xuan Hai, director ofthe HCM City Employment Service Centre.

Recruitment demand fell by half compared with previous fairs, according to Hai.-VNA

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