“Job-hopping” no longer an early-year “trend”
Assessing the labour situation ahead of the Lunar New Year, the Ministry of Home Affairs said labour demand increased significantly as enterprises accelerated production to complete year-end orders and prepare post-Tet business plans.
The rise in labour demand during the Tet season was evident as many enterprises in industrial parks and export processing zones arranged for employees to work through the holiday to avoid affecting production schedules and to increase productivity.
Overall, according to forecasts by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the labour market in the first quarter of 2026 may see an increase of around 300,000 employed persons compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, bringing the total number of employed workers nationwide to approximately 53 million, indicating strong recruitment demand from the beginning of the year.
However, at the end of the Tet holiday, the labour market showed positive signs as the rate of workers returning to work exceeded 95%, higher than in some previous years, with no widespread personnel fluctuations.
Similarly, enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong, and Dong Nai reported that their workforce returned on schedule, with only minor fluctuations in some low-skilled positions.
The post-Covid-19 period witnessed strong labour mobility lasting until 2025. However, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs’ report on Viet Nam’s labour market in the fourth quarter of 2025, by early 2026 the economy had gradually stabilised, enterprises had undergone restructuring, and employee retention policies were given greater attention. This was also one of the reasons why the post-Tet “job-hopping” phenomenon was no longer as vibrant as before.
Workers’ considerations
Contrary to the once common mindset among some young workers of “receiving Tet bonuses and then resigning to look for a new job”, after Tet 2026 many chose to stay in their current roles. This decision not only stems from income considerations but also reflects changes in career thinking and the broader socio-economic context.
Nguyen Phuong Linh (24, an office employee in Ha Noi) said she had planned to resign before Tet. However, after reviewing the recruitment market, she decided to stay in her current job.
“I realised that new positions often require higher levels of information technology and foreign language skills. If I quit immediately after Tet, I would have to consider the risk of financial pressure while not being certain of finding a better environment. Staying here ensures stable income for now. During that time, I can accumulate more experience, and then seeking promotion or changing jobs later will not be too late,” Linh shared.
As living costs in major cities rise, changing jobs is no longer merely about switching working environments but also entails various risks relating to income, insurance, and probation periods. However, not everyone chooses to stay. For some young people, post-Tet remains an appropriate time to embark on a new journey.
Nguyen Truong (26, residing in Ha Noi) changed jobs immediately after the Tet holiday. He said the decision had been carefully considered and prepared in advance, and income was not the sole reason. His salary at the new company increased by only around 15%, but he expected more from a professional working environment and opportunities to access new technologies.
“I want opportunities to gain experience and challenge myself. At my previous company, the job was quite stable but offered little change. I think that if you are young and do not dare to step out of your comfort zone, it will be difficult to go further,” Truong said. According to him, this resignation stemmed from the belief that stability and comfort can become addictive, paralysing young people’s fighting spirit and capacity for development.
Nevertheless, changing jobs immediately after Tet also brings considerable pressure. Truong recalled his first days after the move, when Ha Noi entered a period of prolonged rain. His new company was located farther from home, in an outlying district, so he had to gradually adapt to many challenges, from commuting and adjusting to a new daily routine to integrating into a completely different environment.
However, Truong said the change brought him a sense of “reset”, proactively closing one year to step into a new one with a fresh mindset and a version of himself more ready to learn and open-minded. He also believes young people should choose a place that compels them to strive to be worthy, rather than one that makes them forget how to make an effort.
The “key” to cooling the post-Tet job-hopping wave
Alongside workers’ choices to “leave” or “stay”, experts believe that the cooling of the post-Tet job-hopping trend this year reflects a more balanced state of the labour market. The high rate of workers returning to work shows that labour relations are gradually stabilising and trust between employees and enterprises is being strengthened. This helps enterprises maintain production, minimise order disruptions, and reduce recruitment and retraining costs.
Therefore, the role of enterprises in reducing resignation rates cannot be denied. Instead of passively facing the risk of labour shortages, many units proactively built employee retention policies early on. In addition to salaries, bonuses, and lucky money at the start of the year, many enterprises organised transport for workers to return to their hometowns and back to work, provided accommodation support, increased attendance allowances, or launched lucky draw and spring outing programmes to foster cohesion.
At a manufacturing company in Ho Chi Minh City, H.V.T., Human Resources Director, shared: “We announced an increase in attendance allowances, supported travel costs, and improved shift meals. After Tet, nearly 98% of employees returned to work as scheduled.”
The Human Resources Manager of An Phat Xanh (Hai Duong) said: “Understanding employees’ psychology, my human resources team and I organised a New Year gathering and worked with the leadership to announce a clear roadmap for salary increases. When employees see concrete development opportunities, they think more carefully before deciding to resign. Thanks to doing this well, our company recorded far fewer resignations this year than last year.”
According to the company, amid rising living costs and a more competitive recruitment market, improving the working environment, ensuring transparency in promotion policies, and safeguarding insurance rights have become key factors in retaining workers. These changes have contributed to cooling the post-Tet “job-hopping fever”, replaced by relative stability in the labour market at the beginning of 2026.
Although there is no longer a wave of mass job changes, enterprises should not be complacent in their human resource retention strategies. The younger workforce still places strong emphasis on working environment, work-life balance, and development opportunities. If these expectations are not met, personnel fluctuations may return when the economy recovers more strongly.
