A large number of unemployed university graduates stayed in rented housing or did seasonal jobs in HCM City instead of returning home for Tet.

 
Unemployed university graduates stay in HCM City to find seasonal jobs during Tet

Two people who found themselves in this not uncommon situation were banking and finance graduates of a big university in the city.

Nguyen Duc Tan had worked for a bank but has been unemployed for nearly two years. Tan has received financial support from his family since then but did not feel comfortable meeting his relatives for Tet.

Another, named Dao, from Phu Yen Province, graduated from business administration but spent his second lonely Tet in a row in the city due to unemployment.

He tried to find a job in his hometown, but to no avail. He returned to HCM City six months ago and has yet to find a job there. Now he is living on a modest sum borrowed from friends.

He has worked as vendor at night markets as well as motorbike taxi driver, but the income does not cover his living costs.

Dao found a seasonal job of taking care ornamental trees for a family who took an overseas trip during Tet. For him the holiday is not a special occasion. He spends it working and eating simple meals of instant noodles.

Staying in rented homes during Tet

Many who find themselves in this situation dare not tell their families because they do not want them to worry. Some even pretend to have a good job and claim to be working during Tet in order to avoid returning home. In order to reassure their parents, they borrow money from their friends.

“I burst into tears when seeing people reuniting with their families. I never thought being alone in Saigon during Tet would be so sad,” said one recent graduate.

Statistics show that around 10,000 university graduates were unable to find a job last year. Many of them are forced to take jobs in construction or work as vendors.

The HCM City Centre for Manpower Demand Forecasting and Labour Market Information said the city would have around 256,000 job vacancies in 2014, including 130,000 new jobs.

Due to economic difficulties and the imbalance between labour supply and demand, enterprises are expected to apply stricter employment requirements, creating conditions in which only the most skilled applicants will be employable.