Vietnam Now Recruits Foreign Workers as Domestic Labor Supply Dwindles

KEY TAKEAWAYS

·Bac Ninh Province needs to recruit over 230,000 workers in 2026 for industrial parks, with a December job fair filling fewer than 10 percent of 35,000 open positions.
·Vietnam's population aged 65 and above rose from 6.2 percent in 2005 to 9.5 percent in 2025, while the 60-plus cohort is projected to grow from 14.2 million to 20.9 million by 2034.
·Current regulations restrict foreign workers to skilled roles, with 86.2 percent of Vietnam's 162,858 foreign workers classified in managerial or technical positions as of end-2025.

Manufacturing Hubs Turn to Overseas Recruitment

Photographs of hundreds of Bangladeshi laborers receiving orientation at a Vietnamese manufacturing facility have sparked nationwide discussion about a fundamental shift in the country's workforce composition. The scene represents a departure from Vietnam's longstanding identity as a labor exporter, with the nation now actively recruiting overseas workers to staff its expanding industrial base.

Provincial authorities are confronting acute staffing gaps across manufacturing zones. Bac Ninh Province announced it needs to fill over 230,000 positions in 2026 to support industrial park operations, with electronics assembly accounting for the bulk of demand. A December job fair where 30 employers sought 35,000 candidates resulted in fewer than one in ten roles being filled, according to provincial labor department data.

The recruitment difficulties persist despite efforts to draw workers from adjacent regions. When local and inter-provincial sourcing proves insufficient, companies are increasingly turning to international hiring to maintain production schedules.

Four Forces Reshaping the Workforce

Population trends present the most inflexible constraint. The proportion of Vietnamese residents aged 65 and above climbed from 6.2 percent in 2005 to 9.5 percent in 2025, while the dependency ratio increased from 43.1 percent in 2013 to 47.7 percent in 2024. The population over 60 years old stood at 14.2 million in 2024 and is forecast to reach 20.9 million by 2034.

Concurrently, Vietnamese workers are pursuing opportunities requiring technical expertise rather than physical endurance. Online searches for freelance work have maintained elevated levels since 2023, indicating preference shifts toward flexible employment arrangements over traditional factory and construction roles.

Infrastructure development compounds the pressure. VinCons, the construction division of Vingroup, is recruiting more than 100,000 workers nationwide with monthly wages ranging from 530 USD to 1,250 USD for general labor and up to 1,790 USD for site supervisors. These figures substantially exceed the national average monthly wage of 345 USD, yet recruitment targets remain unmet.

Long Thanh International Airport reported a shortfall of approximately 5,500 workers against a requirement of 14,000 in April, threatening project timelines for one of the country's largest infrastructure undertakings.

Regulatory Framework Under Pressure

Current regulations limit foreign employment primarily to managerial, technical, and expert positions that cannot be filled domestically. By the end of 2025, Vietnam hosted 162,858 foreign workers, with 86.2 percent classified in skilled categories under the 2019 Labour Code.

These restrictions, designed to protect local employment, are increasingly at odds with labor-intensive sectors experiencing genuine shortages. Garment, footwear, and construction industries face particular constraints during a period of unprecedented building activity.

The country maintains substantial overseas worker deployment even as it begins importing labor. More than 700,000 Vietnamese worked abroad under contract as of 2024, generating annual remittances estimated between 3.5 billion USD and 4 billion USD.

Policy Choices Ahead

Politburo Resolution No. 10, issued in June 2026, signals the government's direction by prioritizing technology-driven investment and innovation, targeting ASEAN leadership in foreign direct investment by 2030. The policy framework favors advanced manufacturing over labor-intensive operations.

This strategic orientation requires balancing immediate staffing needs with longer-term workforce development. Allowing foreign recruitment for roles with documented shortages while simultaneously investing in skills training for Vietnamese workers moving into higher-value positions presents the central policy challenge.

The transition mirrors patterns observed in other Asian economies. South Korea dispatched miners, nurses, and over one million construction workers abroad during the 1970s and early 1980s before becoming a net labor importer by the late 1980s as wages rose and citizens shifted to less physically demanding occupations.

Vietnamese workers' movement away from manual roles toward technical and service positions reflects economic advancement rather than displacement. The appearance of foreign laborers on construction sites and factory floors indicates successful development rather than failure, provided policy frameworks ensure wage protection and skills upgrading for domestic workers progressing into more productive employment.

Asia's overnight moves, distilled into a five-minute read.

Manufacturing Hubs Turn to Overseas Recruitment

Four Forces Reshaping the Workforce

Regulatory Framework Under Pressure

Policy Choices Ahead

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