HCMC – Businesses in the textile-garment, plastics, wholesale, engineering and electronics sectors in HCMC are expected to hire over 14,300 people in the first quarter of this year, according to a survey by the HCMC Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Around 5,000 workers will be needed in the apparel industry, 2,200 in engineering and electronics, some 1,000 in wholesales, around 800 in plastics, and the rest in services.

According to Nguyen Van Lam, deputy director of HCMC’s Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, 94% of enterprises in HCMC have resumed operations and 98% of laborers have come back to work after the Lunar New Year holiday (Tet).

All producers in the industrial zones have resumed production, with 49,000 of their 52,000 employees already back to work.

To connect the supply of and demand for labor, the city will coordinate with job placement centers to hold virtual and offline job bazaars in the service sector and for workers in the Southwest and Central Highlands regions.

The city will also launch occupational programs to support employees from Can Tho, Ben Tre, Long An, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces to find jobs in HCMC.

This year, employees returned to work right after Tet and did not switch jobs due to difficulties facing some manufacturing companies, Lam added.