(for illustration only. Photo: danhbathuonghieu.vn)

The number of jobless residents in Ho Chi Minh City fell 22.5 percent in the first half of this year against the same period last year, according to the municipal Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs.

Local media on July 25 cited the department as saying that of 49,973 people out of work recorded during the period, 43,526 sought unemployment insurance, and 36,171 were successful.

The 143,522 people who were introduced to jobs in the first six months of the year include those whose properties had been reclaimed for public projects.

Department head Tran Trung Dung said the fall in unemployment reflected the fact that enterprises have overcome difficulties and revived production.

Nguyen Tan Dinh, deputy head of the HCM City Export Processing Zone Authority said that many companies in the city’s industrial and export processing zones have shown signs of recovery.

The food, engineering and textile industries are likely to need more workers as they expand production in the third quarter and the remaining months of the year, he said.

According to the municipal People’s Committee, the city’s first-half GDP was 340.6 trillion VND (14.5 billion USD), an increase of 7.9 percent over the same period last year.

Its first-half export turnover was 13.7 billion USD, up 6.2 percent year-on-year.

The city’s industrial production index also increased 5.2 percent in the first half over the same period last year.

Source: VNA