How will human resources be allocated at the commune level after the staffing quota is assigned?

The gap from reality

Before September 25, 2026, for the commune-level government, the city will temporarily allocate 6,056 staffing positions for officials and civil servants in 2026 to ensure the operation of agencies and units. As of September 15, 2025, 5,163 people are present, which is 893 fewer than the temporarily allocated number.

Recent events have shown that a manpower shortage has emerged in some localities. In Cam Giang commune, the People's Committee was temporarily allocated 45 positions but only has 30 civil servants. The Department of Culture and Social Affairs was temporarily allocated 10 positions, initially with only 5 people; one more person was added in September.

Mr. Vu Van Tien, Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Department of Cam Giang commune, said: "The shortage of staff compared to the workload has led to many times when officials and civil servants in the department are overloaded, especially in the initial period when the locality had to simultaneously implement many tasks after the administrative unit reorganization. In addition, currently, some professional positions require officials and civil servants to take on multiple responsibilities."

To meet immediate needs, the People's Committee of Cam Giang commune has employed contract workers in some suitable positions. This solution helps supplement manpower while awaiting the completion of the workforce. However, contract workers are mainly young people who are capable of applying technology but have limited experience in state management and require training. The contract duration and income structure also make maintaining a stable workforce difficult.

Bac An Phu Ward also lacked civil servants during the temporary allocation of personnel. The Party and Fatherland Front committees of the ward had 21 staff members, 6 fewer than the temporarily allocated number. Some officials had to simultaneously handle multiple tasks, from organization, personnel, and party members to propaganda, mass mobilization, document management, cryptography, and digital transformation . In the government sector, some positions were also not fully filled. The Department of Economy, Infrastructure, and Urban Development currently had to utilize 2 seconded/assigned staff members along with 2 contract workers to meet work requirements.

According to the leaders of Bac An Phu ward, seconded and contracted officials help address immediate needs, but in the long term, it is also necessary to have officials and civil servants assigned to the right positions. The ward is reviewing functions, tasks, job positions, and workloads to develop a suitable human resource utilization plan.

Make better use of existing resources.

On September 25th, the City People's Council officially approved a resolution allocating 5,138 positions for officials and civil servants at the commune level. The city's decision to officially allocate these positions for 2026 is due to the fact that the number of positions allocated by the Central Government in Decision No. 323-QĐ/BTCTW was lower than the number the city had previously provisionally allocated. Therefore, the city reviewed and adjusted the provisional allocation to ensure that the total number of positions does not exceed the Central Government's quota, while also being consistent with the organizational structure, the number of existing officials and civil servants, and the task requirements of each agency and unit.

Compared to the previously allocated quota, the total number of civil servants in the commune-level government sector decreased by 918 positions, from 6,056 to 5,138. Notably, the number of officially allocated commune-level positions is 5,138, almost equivalent to the 5,163 civil servants present as of September 15th. Therefore, the allocation of human resources at the grassroots level needs to be calculated in a way that better utilizes existing resources rather than raising the issue of requiring additional personnel.

Based on job positions and actual workload, localities need to continue reviewing and reorganizing staff across departments, especially in areas with disparities in personnel. Appropriate reassignment and secondment can also provide timely support to positions with heavy workloads or requiring specific expertise.

For contract workers currently employed in some localities such as Cam Giang, this can still be a source of support for suitable jobs, within the prescribed scope. Along with that, the application of technology, data linkage, and improvement of work processes will contribute to reducing administrative steps, thereby creating more space for the existing workforce to focus on core tasks...

From the provisional allocation of 6,056 positions for commune-level government officials and civil servants (5,163 present on September 15th) to the official allocation of 5,138 positions on September 25th, the human resource issue at the grassroots level needs to quickly shift from identifying gaps to reorganizing resources. Flexibility in assignment and transfer, along with improved work efficiency, will contribute to enabling commune and ward governments to meet task requirements within the allocated staffing quota.