In Tan Binh Industrial Park, many textile and garment companies like May Thanh Cong, Thang Loi, Nam Thien and Dong Tien Hung have posted recruitment notices for unskilled workers. They do not limit the number of applicants and offer salaries of 1.8-2.5 million dong per month.

 
However, only a few people have applied for the jobs. About 10 people drop by to read the notices everyday but just one of them comes in to ask for more information;’ says a security guard of Dong Hung Tien Co.

 
Job placement centres in the city have also rushed to seek unskilled workers due to the high demand of local enterprises. Some big employment centres under the labour department’ HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA), and local authorities have also joined the hunt for employees.

 
The latest figures from the labour department show that HCM City lacked around 61,000 labourers at the end of June, including 12,000 for industrial parks and export processing zones.

Pham Xuan Hong, vice chair of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas), says that each enterprise in the sector is around 15 percent short-staffed. "The number of export orders has increased since the beginning of the second quarter, which is a challenge for many labour-intensive companies;’ he adds.

Since massive layoffs in late 2008, many companies have been having trouble finding workers after receiving new orders as the workers have found other employers or have moved to other industries. As a result, the current shortage is more serious than before the economic crisis, Truong Lam Danh, vice chair of the HCM City Labour Union, explains.

 
Labour management and employment centres blame the high cost of living in HCM City and the low salaries for the labour crisis. More and more, industrial parks are being placed outside HCM City, so workers have decided to work in their hometowns to save money instead of flocking to the big city.

 
"Some enterprises force their workers to work overtime but do not pay a fair overtime wage. Some pay lower than regulated salaries. Hong of Vitas says that most companies in the apparel sector are seeking ways to keep workers due to difficulties in recruitment.

 
One of the most effective solutions for the problem is appropriate salary rates. However, only large companies like Viet Tien, Nha Be and Sai Gon 3 can offer monthly salaries of over 2.5 million dong.

 
Productivity is also important to help companies reduce work hours, stabilise salary rates and recruit fewer workers, Tam says. HEPZA has also called for enterprises to pay the salaries posted on recruitment notices to keep employees. The enterprises should assist workers with accommodation, says HEPZA employment centre director Nguyen Thanh Tung.

 
For a long-term solution, the city should restructure industries, reduce labour- intensive projects and replace them with high -tech ones to ease the labour shortage, Tam of the HCM City labour department says.