Labor market in 2026: Workers under pressure from AI

In the context of many economic fluctuations, the Vietnamese job market is recording remarkable shifts. Faced with that reality, Coc Coc Research has analyzed and synthesized data to sketch the overall picture of the current Vietnamese job market.

The Vietnam Employment Market Report was published on the afternoon of January 21, conducted through a survey of 1,009 respondents who are workers, candidates, and employers nationwide in December 2025.

The report has the coordination of applying data from the 24h Work platform, a trusted partner of more than 2.3 million businesses.

The 2025 labor market is stable on the surface, waiting for the rebound in 2026

According to the survey rate, half of workers (53.8%) have remained in the same position for the past 12 months. However, behind a stable appearance is an increasingly clear cautious mentality: 48.7% are considering a new opportunity, while only 28.1% are willing to change jobs immediately if there are enough attractive offers.

In that general picture, Gen Z emerged as the group with the highest shift rate with 32.8% of Gen Z workers actively looking for jobs and ready to move immediately.

On the other hand, businesses entered 2026 with expansion expectations, when 77% said they planned to recruit more personnel in the next 12 months. The imbalance between recruitment demand and the readiness to move of workers is creating a job market "stable at the surface but delayed at the deep floor".

Workers go hand in hand with the pressure of AI (artificial intelligence)

The report recorded a clear shift in the professional value system of workers. Although salary and benefits are still the foundation for creating a sense of "stability" (40%) income is no longer the factor given top priority.

Specifically, 76.9% of surveyed workers are willing to choose a healthier, more respectful and balanced working environment, even if they have to trade for a higher salary. For Gen Z, this number is even more obvious when 60.8% are willing to accept a 1-10% reduction in income in exchange for a suitable working environment.

At the same time, the development of AI creates a clear two-way psychology. 36% of workers expressed optimism about the impact of AI on work, while 16.6% were concerned about the risk of being replaced. Notably, 64% said that AI can reduce the connection between humans and humans in the working environment.

On the other hand, businesses are also facing increasingly complex recruitment challenges. The report shows that 54% of businesses have not met candidates' income expectations, becoming one of the major barriers in recruiting and retaining employees.

In the context of increasingly popular AI, recruitment criteria are also shifting towards prioritizing skills that demonstrate human's underlying abilities such as adaptability, independent thinking, creativity and emotional management. Mastering basic AI tools has, in many cases, become a fundamental requirement rather than a competitive advantage.

Another notable discovery from the report is that 80% of workers proactively use AI tools in their work, most of whom are using them even if the enterprise does not have specific instructions or regulations.

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