
Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam's manufacturing industryrecorded a steady increase in output and orders in January while the number ofjobs also rose for the second consecutive month, according to a newly releasedreport of London-based information provider IHS Markit.
The Vietnam Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index(PMI) rose to 53.7 in January 2022 from 52.5 in December 2021. It signals a solidimprovement in business conditions that was the most marked since April lastyear. Both output and new orders increased at a high rate in the opening monthof the year as customer demand continued to enhance.
Experts attributed the improvement in total new orders toforeign enterprises’ activities, with the fastest growth rate since November2018.
Companies are also confident in the production outlook for2022. About 60 percent of respondents expected an increase in output,reflecting the highest level of optimism in the past three years.
A rise in employment was recorded in January, as companiescontinued to rebuild their workforce following the Delta wave of the pandemicin 2021.
According to IHS Markit, the increase in employment enabled manufacturers to keep on top of workload despite a sharpergrowth of new orders./.