Unemployment after age 35: Age becomes a barrier to employment

It's difficult to find a job because you are "overage

For half a year now, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu (from Nam Dong commune, Ninh Binh) has come to the Hanoi Employment Service Center dozens of times to find a job but has not been accepted anywhere.

Losing her job in July 2025 at the age of 38 while working as an employee at a stationery store in Ha Dong ward (Hanoi), Ms. Thu struggled to find a new job and survived by working as a sales collaborator.

The whole family depends on my husband's salary of 13 million VND/month. My daughter is in middle school this year, and her studies will be more expensive. I have not found a job for a single day, I am like a fire burning that day. The income from working as a sales collaborator is very precarious, in the good months I earn about 6 million VND, in the bad months a few million VND, not enough to cover the food for 3 mouths," Ms. Thu complained.

According to Ms. Thu, she used to study accounting, then went to work with sales experience, but when looking for a job and applying, she was "criticized" for being "old". Ms. Thu said that companies are willing to recruit young personnel for further training because this group is agile, with standard qualifications and many strengths that the group of workers at her age will never have.

The closer to Tet, the more job opportunities at recruitment sessions are "reduced", so Ms. Thu does not have much hope. "For half a month now, I have not worked as a sales collaborator but cleaned houses and sanitation by the hour for households, with much higher income. However, the work is hard, so every night I feel aching and sore, afraid of not being able to stay long," Ms. Thu said.

According to representatives of the Hanoi Employment Service Center, records at the central job transaction floor and satellite floors show that the number of middle-aged workers looking for jobs is increasing. Many people who used to work as managers, technical workers, office workers... now have to accept applying for lower positions with lower incomes. However, opportunities are still very limited.

Many businesses currently prioritize recruiting young workers because they are easy to train, easy to adapt to the digital environment and have low labor costs. In recruitment notices, many places implicitly set age limits below 30 or 35. This makes workers over 35 years old, even if experienced, still eliminated right from the application round. Many workers send dozens of applications but do not receive feedback or are rejected flatly when they know their real age," said a representative of the Hanoi Employment Service Center.

Switching to temporary work to make a living

When they cannot find an official job, many workers aged 35-45 are forced to switch to freelance and seasonal jobs such as driving technology cars, delivering goods, small businesses, and working as hired laborers on a daily basis. These jobs help them have immediate income, but are often precarious, unstable and lack social security.

Income depends on health and working hours, while living expenses and family burdens are still very large. Many people who once had a stable income now struggle every day, even borrowing to cover living expenses when freelance jobs are not enough to live on.

Mr. Le Duc Tam (Dong Da ward, Hanoi) used to be an employee of a construction company. Losing his job in April 2025, struggling for 3 months without finding a new job, Mr. Tam is currently working as a technology motorbike taxi driver.

“My income is about 17 million VND/month - not a low level, but I see my health getting worse because I'm constantly walking around the streets. On cold days, I reduce work hours, come home early in the evening but still feel aching all over my body the next morning. At 40 years old, it's difficult to find any job, but if I don't go to work, my wife and children will suffer...”, Mr. Tam shared.

Mr. Vu Quang Thanh - Deputy Director of the Hanoi Employment Service Center - said that the reasons why middle-aged workers find it difficult to find jobs and prolonged unemployment come from many sides. First of all, the digital transformation and automation in enterprises are causing many simple labor positions or traditional administrative jobs to gradually be replaced by technology. In addition, businesses tend to optimize personnel costs, prioritizing young workers with low starting salaries, accepting overtime and quickly adapting. Middle-aged workers with salaries based on seniority and family responsibilities often find it difficult to compete.

Another factor is the skill gap. Many middle-aged workers have not had time to update digital skills, foreign languages or new technologies, causing them to be assessed as not suitable for the modern working environment," Mr. Thanh said.

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