HANOI, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's national index of industrial production advanced 10 percent year on year in the first four months of this year, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Tuesday.
The processing and manufacturing sector, the main driver of the surge, went up 12.7 percent, contributing 10.2 percentage points to the overall growth. The electricity production and distribution sector expanded 6.6 percent, and the water supply and waste management sector was up 7.5 percent, said the office.
In April alone, the industrial production index went up 1.1 percent against March but surged 24.1 percent year on year amid good control of COVID-19 nationwide and positive impacts of free trade agreements that Vietnam is involved in, according to the office.
Between January and April, the production of rolled steel witnessed the largest output increase year on year at 61.8 percent, followed by automobiles (52.5 percent), phone accessories (29.2 percent) and television sets (20.9 percent).
As of April 1, the total number of employees in the industrial sector increased by 1.8 percent year on year. In particular, employment expanded 2.1 percent in processing and manufacturing firms, but contracted 3.2 percent in mining businesses, said the office. Enditem