HANOI, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's national index of industrial production in the first seven months of this year decreased by 0.7 percent year on year due largely to the difficult situation of world economy, local media reported on Friday, citing the country's General Statistics Office (GSO).
The processing and manufacturing sector went down by 1 percent. The electricity production and distribution sector expanded by 1.4 percent, and the water supply and waste management sector increased by 6.3 percent, according to the office.
A number of key industries still gained index of industrial production (IIP) growth in the seven-month period, including coke, refined petroleum products, metal ore, rubber, plastic products, and waste treatment and recycling activities, local newspaper Vietnam News reported.
Vietnam's IIP in July increased 3.7 percent year on year. Water supply, waste water treatment and management activities recorded the highest IIP increase of 8.3 percent. The sector was followed by electricity generation and distribution sector with an increase of 4.1 percent, the mining industry with 4 percent and the processing and manufacturing sectors with 3.6 percent, the newspaper said.
As of July 1 this year, the total number of employees in the industrial sector decreased by 3.9 percent year on year, said the GSO. ■
