November 10, 2025 | 06:16

Construction industry faces labor shortage

Phan Nam

Since the second quarter of this year, a serious labor shortage in the industry has led to fierce competition for human resources...

At an event organized on November 8 by the Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors (VACC), many companies expressed that they have not been able to sign new contracts, since existing contracts already secure work through 2026, and more new contracts would exceed their capacity in terms of labor force

Businesses also said that due to a serious shortage of human resources, some large corporations have introduced a policy of recruiting construction workers with salaries many times higher than the average level that construction businesses are paying. This makes it even more difficult for most construction contractors, who are already short of workers, to retain and recruit more workers.

According to VACC, in the second quarter of 2025, job postings in the construction sector increased by nearly 172 per cent compared to the same period last year, making it one of the fastest-growing sectors in terms of labor demand. However, the number of job applications decreased by more than 42.5 per cent, leading to a severe imbalance between labor supply and demand.

Mr. Hoang Hoa Cuong, CEO of Visicons suggested that to address the labor shortage, construction companies should consider prefabricating components in factories and assembling them on-site to improve efficiency. He also emphasized the importance of continuous training to enhance skills and productivity.

Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hiep, Chairman of VACC, urged companies to focus on technological advancements to reduce labor demand. VACC plans to organize study tours to learn from South Korean, Japanese, and Chinese companies. The association will also propose that the Government  improve quality of construction workers and adjust labor cost policies.

Attention
The original article is written and published on VnEconomy in Vietnamese, then translated into English by Askonomy – an AI platform developed by Vietnam Economic Times/VnEconomy – and published on En-VnEconomy. To read the full article, please use the Google Translate tool below to translate the content into your preferred language.
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