(HCMC, November 04, 2009) - VietnamWorks.com, the largest online recruitment solution provider in Vietnam,  today released its Online Employment Indicator Report of quarter III/2009. According to data tracked by VietnamWorks.com, the online labor market in quarter III/2009 showed signs of continuous recovery with the rise in labor demand indexes.

Rising demand, lessening supply, and shortening labor gap

In general, the labor demand index of quarter III/2009 increased by 11.4% in comparison with quarter II/2009, and was up by 52.4% against the first quarter of this year. Of all 50 industries tracked by VietnamWorks.com, there were 24 industries recorded increment in labor demand indexes, 21 industries went flat, and the rest ones decreased. Amongst those rising industries, Agriculture/Forestry had the highest growth in labor demand index, increasing by 100% compared with that of quarter II/2009, though its index was not a high one, only at 0.2. In contrast, Textile/Garment registered the highest loss in this quarter, downed by 25% in comparison with that of the previous quarter.

Regarding the labor supply, Agriculture/Forestry also recorded the highest growth, at 20% as compared with that of quarter II/2009. Meanwhile, labor supply index of the Construction industry had the highest loss, lessening by 13.9% against that of quarter II/2009. In general, labor supply index of quarter III/2009 slightly slid down by 2.8% against quarter II/2009, but was still 6.2% higher than that of quarter I/2009. Comparing with quarter II/2009, only seven over 50 industries tracked increment in labor supply indexes, 19 industries were in freeze, while the labor supply indexes of 24 industries went down. The lessening trend of online supply index in this quarter could be a result of the softened turnover rate in the labor market recently.

In general, the rising trend of online labor demand index for two consecutive quarters in 2009, coupling with the slowing down in online supply index, helped shorten the labor gap which would ease the pressure on candidates in their job search. Chris Harvey, Managing Director of VietnamWorks.com said, "Now that the market has begun to recover, companies are turning to their growth mode, and the labor market is heating up with more recruitment activities. However, it would take time for the labor market to regain its activities as compared with 18 months ago. Jobseekers, in general, should bear in mind that for the time being they still do not have the bargaining position as dealing with salary negotiation".

New trends in quarter III/2009

Especially in the third quarter of the year, Marketing continued to go up with the labor demand index, making it the only industry in 50 industries left labor supply index behind. Moreover, the labor gap in this industries kept widening for two consecutive quarters, indicating that the labor market is still in need of qualified marketing personnels.

Accompanying with the upswing in labor demand indexes in quarter III/2009, the labor market in this quarter also witnessed a new trend in hiring Expatriate (Expat) for management positions. With the economic downturn, expats, including Viet Kieu, coming into Vietnam to look for a position, shaping a new trend termed "Local International Hire".  They have the skills and experience, are already in this country and obviously interested to stay but doesn't cost the company extra to relocate them. Therefore, with a realistic expectation on the compensation and benefits, they could end up getting a suitable job. In fact, the labor demand for management levels was not high in quantity, and labor supply index of Expat was still higher than its labor demand index (1.0 vs. 0.1).

Top Five Industries with high Labor Supply and Demand

The Top Five Labor Supply and Demand shows the industries in the highest supply and demand among others. In quarter III/2009, the list stayed unchanged in both online labor demand and supply as compared with those of the previous quarter.

Regarding the Top Five Demand by Industry, these are key industries which are always in demand of manpower no matter how the economic climate is. For this quarter, Sales recorded the highest labor demand index, increasing by 12.5% against quarter II/2009. The followings were Accounting/Finance, Engineering, Administrative/Clerical, and IT-Software. Of all industries which were named in the list, only the IT-Software industry went flat while the rest did make increment in labor demand index as compared with that of quarter II/2009.

With the Top Five Supply by Industry in quarter III/2009, although the list was the same as in quarter II/2009, all of five industries tracked no increment in labor supply indexes. While the Administrative/Clerical industry was stable in labor supply index, increasing at 0% against quarter II/2009, the rest ones such as Accounting/Finance, Banking/Invest, Engineering, and Human Resources all recorded negative growth.

Top Five Most Competitive Industries

The application index in quarter III/2009 was recorded at 6.4, staying constant as compared with that of quarter II/2009. This meant that jobseekers continued to find it hard to apply for a job during the third quarter of the year. Administrative/Clerical, Export-Import, Human Resources, Customer Service, and Interpreter/Translator continued to be the Most Competitive industries. Administrative/Clerical led the list with the same application index as in the previous quarter, at 11.4, while Human Resources was down by 6.0% in application index, though it was still in the list.

Meanwhile, in the Top Five Least Competitive Industries of quarter III/2009, the Securities Service was the least competitive industry of the quarter. Following after Securities Service was Health Care/Medical, Warehouse, Legal, and Agriculture/Forestry respectively.

The high competitiveness in the labor market recently, to a certain extent, would have positive effects on the workforce. It would create a great motivation for jobseekers to learn and to be more mature as "they would consider more aspects before taking an offer, think more on the long-term career stability and personal development" - added Chris Harvey.

About the Online Employment Indicator Report

The VietnamWorks.com's Online Employment Indicator Report is a quarterly review of the online labor supply and demand trends which were tracked on www.vietnamworks.com. The labor supply and demand indexes do not represent the number of jobs and resumes tracked by VietnamWorks.com but they reflect the labor supply and demand trend in specific job industries, levels, and in various regions throughout Vietnam.

About VietnamWorks.com

VietnamWorks.com is the largest online recruitment provider in Vietnam with more than 50,000 people visiting our website every day. VietnamWorks.com has more than 3,000 new jobs every month from biggest companies in Vietnam and the finest resources for career advancement to help jobseekers get their dream jobs. For employers, VietnamWorks.com provides online recruitment solutions and a searchable database containing over 200,000 CVs to help them get right talent to growth their businesses. Our mission is to help jobseekers and companies achieve their dreams.