Plywood production at Hoang Gia Yen Bai company (Photo: VNA) |
The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for Vietnamese manufacturing rose to 53.7 in January, up from 52.5 in December, the most marked improvement since April 2021. Both output and new orders increased at sharper rates in January as customer demand continued to improve.
Enterprises are upbeat about production prospects in 2022. 60% of respondents predicted a rise in output, with overall optimism the strongest in over three years.
Employment rose in January as firms continued to rebuild workforce numbers following the Delta wave of the pandemic in 2021. The increase in employment enabled manufacturers to keep on top of workloads despite the sharp growth of new orders.