Though facing many difficulties, Vietnam still posted impressive economic growth in 2022. Was this the result of implementing policies to support businesses and workers and help recover the labor market? How would you assess the effects of these policies in helping to stabilize people’s living conditions?

2022 saw unexpected domestic and international changes, particularly the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and difficulties in production and trade facing businesses. All of these negatively affected the living conditions of citizens and workers. In that context, the Party, the government, the State, and the National Assembly issued a number of policies aimed at economic recovery and development and ensuring social security.

Within three years, we issued dozens of policies to ensure people’s living conditions and social security for disadvantaged groups.

In particular, the government issued six resolutions and decisions to directly assist people and workers affected by Covid-19. We mobilized a total of VND104 trillion ($4.4 billion) to support 68.67 million people and over 1.4 million employers.

These polices helped businesses resume operations, improved people’s living conditions, and maintained labor supply chains in production and trade and at industrial parks.

The implementation of social security policies played an important role in handling risks, stabilizing people’s lives, and preventing labor supply disruptions. What are your thoughts on labor demand in 2023 amid continued unpredictable developments around the world?

The closing months of 2021 and all of 2022 posed many challenges, with Covid-19 and the economic crisis damaging industrial parks, which are important fortresses for the production sector, particularly in the south. What concerned us the most at that time was labor supply disruptions. However, the involvement of the entire political system and the efforts of enterprises and the people curbed labor supply disruption and recovery was quick and sustainable.

At this time, the labor market is stable in terms of both scale and quality. However, there are still labor shortages in specific areas, especially for employees with high technical skills.

Enterprises in different sectors are forecast to employ 350,000-400,000 workers this year. Labor shortages are predicted to still occur in certain specific fields in the first and second quarters. It is important that enterprises know how to attract and retain workers.

It is also essential to have policies to train workers, especially skilled workers, to meet the increasing demand of enterprises.

Social security policies are closely linked with building and developing a labor market that creates jobs and stable incomes. However, job generation and social security are considered major challenges. How will the ministry deal with these challenges in 2023 and the years to come?

I think we will encounter many challenges and pressures in the future, particularly in the context of the inflationary storm around the world. As the labor market has narrowed, challenges facing enterprises will lead to challenges in labor and social security. Therefore, job generation and social security must be addressed at the same time.

It is necessary to form a flexible, synchronous, modern, sustainable, and integrated labor market in 2023 and the following years together with building and developing a comprehensive, inclusive, and sustainable social security system.