FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 25, 2006

Employment index hits the top despite a 10% drop in labor supply

HO CHI MINH CITY – The strong demand for employees has lifted up the employment index despite a 10 per cent drop in the labor supply in the second quarter of the year, showed the latest labor report.

The latest Vietnam Online Employment Indicator, a quarterly report published by VietnamWorks.com that measures labor supply and demand, showed continued upward growth trend in online recruitment activity through the first half of 2006, while greater labor demand in key categories projects a further consistent strength in the Vietnam job market. 

Nearly all categories increased online job availability last quarter, pushing the Demand Index to its highest level to date. The labor demand index soared 38 per cent in the last three months with the greatest recruiting demand fell into Sales, Technology/Telecommunications, Accounting, Marketing, Administrative/Clerical and Engineering.

Meanwhile, the supply index fell 10 per cent in the second quarter after six consecutive quarters of growth, which Tiffany Nguyen, Strategic Initiative Director and the author of the report, explained as a common trend in the second quarter.

“While the demand continued rising due to a strong growth economy, the drop in candidates supply reflected a common trend in the second quarter of each year where the labor index tends to have a slight drop after a big jump from the previous quarter,” Tiffany said.

It also resulted from the fact that many Vietnamese people are inclined to delay their job-hopping to the third quarter and last-year students focused on their exams, mirrored through declines in more than two-third categories with the sharp decrease of 51 per cent in Entry level/Internship category, she said.

By location, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) and Hanoi continued their solid domination in jobs advertised online, jointly accounting for 81 per cent of all jobs. HCMC took the lead with 51 per cent to remain the largest hub, up from 47 per cent in the previous quarter. Binh Duong ranked the third with 5 per cent. The remaining stake belongs to other six key industrial provinces of Bien Hoa-Dong Nai, Vinh Phuc, Da Nang , ba Ria-Vung Tau, Hai Duong and Hai Phong.

About VietnamWorks' Viet Nam Online Employment Indicator

The Vietnam Employment Indicator seeks to provide valuable information and insight regarding Vietnam 's ever-changing labor market and is based on the number of job opportunities advertised and the number of resumes posted on VietnamWorks.com. The report is available in English and Vietnamese, and is updated every quarter. The latest update (Q2 2006) can be found on VietnamWorks' website ( http://www.vietnamworks.com/press_center/index.php?sid=57).

About VietnamWorks.com

VietnamWorks.com is Vietnam 's largest online recruiter, having served thousands companies and hundreds-of-thousands jobseekers since its inception in 2002. For job-seekers, VietnamWorks.com provides free online access to thousands of jobs and extensive career development resources. For employers, VietnamWorks.com provides online job posting services, a searchable database with hundreds of thousands of CVs and print job advertisements in popular local newspapers.

To learn more about the VietnamWorks.com – Vietnam Employment Indicator, please contact Tiffany Nguyen at (08) 404 1373 or tiffany@vietnamworks.com .

For more information please contact:

Nguyen Hai Ha