Vietnam's national index of industrial production advanced 2.6 per cent year-on-year in the first seven months of this year, according to the General Statistics Office on Thursday.
The main driver of the rise, the processing and manufacturing sector, went up 4.2 per cent, contributing 3.5 percentage points to the overall growth.
Electricity production and distribution sector grew 2.1 per cent, contributing 0.2 percentage points, and water supply and waste management grew 3.3 per cent, contributing 0.1 percentage points.
Complex developments of the COVID-19 pandemic globally have disrupted the supply chain, causing difficulties for industrial production, the office noted.
Production of refined sugar witnessed the largest output reduction year-on-year, at 23.1 percent, followed by automobiles (down 22.3 per cent), beer (down 14.9 per cent) and crude oil (down 14.1 per cent).
Outputs of petroleum and oil went up 18.6 per cent, TV sets up 12.4 per cent, phone components up 11.4 per cent and monosodium glutamate up 10.5 per cent, reports Xinhua.
As of July 1, the total number of employees in the industrial sector declined 1.8 per cent year-on-year. Employment in the processing and manufacturing businesses dropped 1.9 per cent, while that of mining ones went up 0.4 per cent, said the office.