A growing partnership between domestic and European and American firms means several major energy projects worth over $2 billion are being planned in the country, recruitment firm Navigos Group said in a recent report.

The northern port city of Hai Phong last month gave approval for Exxon Mobil to build a $5.09 billion liquefied natural gas-fired (LNG) power plant.

Hai Phong has also approved another LNG power project that will cost $1.9 billion and have a capacity of 1.6 GW, though no further details are known.

Demand for personnel in these projects is set to rise, with employers looking for people with English proficiency and long-term commitment, it said.

In the textile and garment industry, recruitment demand fell in August after hundreds of new Covid-19 cases were reported in central Vietnam, the report said.

This continued to keep the sector’s labor market depressed, a phenomenon that had begun in the first quarter after buyers in the E.U. and the U.S. delayed or canceled orders due to pandemic impacts on demand for garment products.

In the third quarter garment companies continued to reduce the work hours and salaries of their employees. Some of them had to suspend operations due to lack of orders.

But hiring demand is set to bounce back in the next six months thanks to the shifting of production from China to Vietnam, the report said.

Some Japanese and European garment firms have entered the country and are looking to hire, especially middle- and top-level managers, it added.

In the retail sector, recruitment demand has risen by 40-50 percent from February-July as employers are seeking to boost e-commerce revenues and are hiring digital marketing and sales personnel.

Hiring demand in the sector is set to rise this quarter with two new major Japanese retailers setting up shop in Hanoi.