Vietnamese manufacturers are facing an increasingly severe labour shortage, with some companies refusing or delaying export contracts because they cannot recruit enough workers to meet production demand.
Truong Van Cam, vice chairman and secretary-general of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS), said textile and garment exports rose just 1.7 per cent in the first six months of the year, well below the roughly 21 per cent growth recorded in Vietnam's overall exports. Even so, the industry maintained a trade surplus of around USD 9.2 billion.
Looking ahead to the second half of the year, Truong Van Cam said labour shortages had become one of the industry's biggest challenges, alongside uncertainties in export markets.
According to him, the shortage is becoming increasingly acute, affecting even the country's largest manufacturers.
"The textile and garment industry struggles to compete with electronics, technology and large-scale industrial projects, where wages are significantly higher. That has made it increasingly difficult for companies to attract workers," he said.
Not only the timber industry, but businesses in textiles, seafood and other sectors are also facing labour shortages (Photo: Nam Binh).
Nguyen Hoai Nam, secretary-general of the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP), said seafood processors employ hundreds of thousands of workers to produce around 1.5 million export containers of agricultural, forestry and seafood products each year.
Despite strong export demand, seafood companies in the Mekong Delta continue to face a critical shortage of labour.
"For example, the industry currently needs to produce about 200 export containers each month, but with the available machinery and workforce we can only produce around 100," Nguyen Hoai Nam said.
The shortage extends beyond the Mekong Delta. Industrial parks and export processing zones across Ho Chi Minh City, including Linh Trung, Tan Thuan and Tan Binh, continue to advertise large-scale recruitment campaigns outside factory gates.
However, many companies have been unable to fill vacancies, particularly for skilled positions requiring specialised training and experience.
Dang Thi Minh Phuong, chairwoman of the Ho Chi Minh City Logistics and Seaport Association, said logistics companies had substantially increased salaries in an attempt to attract workers.
She said container truck drivers earned around VND 25 million (about USD 956) a month in 2025. Today, companies are offering VND 45-50 million (about USD 1,720-1,910) per month but still struggle to recruit enough qualified drivers.
As a highly labour-intensive sector, the seafood industry is facing a shortage of workers to fulfil export orders (Photo: Nam Binh).
Labour supply and demand increasingly out of sync
Statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Employment Service Centre show that during the first half of the year there were 112,060 job seekers, while businesses advertised 165,949 vacancies.
Recruitment demand is concentrated in practical, production-oriented occupations, including general labour, machine operation, manufacturing, sales, production management, research and development, and quality control.
By contrast, the labour supply includes a relatively high proportion of applicants seeking administrative, office-based, marketing and communications roles, as well as university graduates.
Several sectors face particularly wide gaps between labour supply and demand, including real estate development and manufacturing operations.
Ngo Sy Hoai, vice chairman and secretary-general of the Vietnam Timber and Forest Products Association, said labour shortages had become the first topic of discussion among wood manufacturers for many months, especially in southeastern Vietnam.
Some companies, he said, have stopped accepting additional export orders because they cannot recruit enough workers.
According to Ngo Sy Hoai, workers now have far more employment options than in the past, while Vietnam's traditional advantage of low-cost labour has steadily eroded across industries such as furniture manufacturing, seafood processing, textiles and footwear.
"Labour shortages will become even more severe in the coming years. Businesses must adapt by developing new growth models that reduce dependence on cheap labour while maintaining competitiveness," he said.