The Online Employment Indicator Report for the second quarter of the year released by the provider last week says the online labour demand index moved at a higher speed than the online labour supply index, showing signs of recovery

Chris Harvey, managing director of VietnamWorks.com said: "The online labour indices of quarter II/2009 demonstrated an ‘employers’ market’ with great availability in supply of labour. However, the online labour demand index moved at a higher speed than the online labour supply index, showing signs of recovery of the labour market".

The online labour demand index for the second quarter increased by 36.8 per cent over the first. Of all 50 industries registered on www.vietnamworks.com, demand among 34 industries showed an increment over the first quarter, while the 16 remaining industries stayed unchanged.

During the same period, the supply index continued its upswing, increasing by 9.2 per cent over the first quarter. Twenty-six industries recorded increased supply, 12 industries remained unchanged, and 12 industries recorded a decrease.

Despite the upward trend in labour demand, employers are now more cautious in choosing the right person to fill vacancies and recruitment standards are being set higher, the report says.

The labour supply-demand gap narrowed in the majority of industries in the second quarter. In particular, the gaps between supply and demand of labour narrowed for 34 of the 50 industries. "The convergence of supply and demand of labour helped lower job seekers’ stress in these industries, although big gaps still remain and would take time to resolve," said Harvey.

Sales, manufacturing, and marketing recorded the smallest gaps between the labour supply and demand amongst industries with the highest labour demand indices in the second quarter.

The labour demand index for sales increased by 52.4 per cent over the first quarter while the sector’s labour supply index increased by 10.4 per cent. For manufacturing, the demand index went up by 36.4, while supply decreased by 5.9 per cent.

Labour demand index for marketing, meanwhile, was much higher than supply at 54.5 per cent vs. 7.1 per cent, resulting in more demand than supply in this sector.

Top five industries

In the second quarter of the year, the top five industries with high labour demand were accounting/finance, administrative/clerical, engineering, sales, and IT-software. Sales had the highest online labour demand index with an increase of 52.4 per cent over first quarter figures.

Increasing demand for human resources in key industries to a certain extent indicated that more employers needed talent to either help them ride out the storm or prepare for the next phase. Meanwhile, accounting/finance led the top five industries with high labour supply indices in the second quarter, followed by banking/investment, administrative/clerical, engineering, and human resources.