As many as 130,000 people were provided with jobs in January, of whom 7,000 were sent to work abroad, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

In 2013, Vietnam sets a target of generating 1.6 million jobs, including 85,000 guest workers. The country also strives to reduce the unemployment rate in urban areas to below 4 percent.

Last year, the country created jobs for more than 1.4 million workers, equivalent to 95 percent of the yearly target.

Labour exports fulfilled only 88.9 percent of the plan with 80,000 people, including 26,800 female workers.

Chinese Taiwan topped the list of Vietnam’s labour importers with 30,000 workers, followed by the Republic of Korea with over 9,000 people and Japan with more than 8,700. -VNA