Employees in Ho Chi Minh City earn the highest average monthly salary in the country, according to the latest report of the leading recruitment website VietnamWorks.

Job-seekers at a job fair

The average monthly salary of an employee in the country’s largest economic hub is some 10.37 million VND (456 USD), equivalent to 124.44 million VND (5,500 USD) per worker per year.

The wage is some 38 percent higher than the country’s average.

According to the General Statistics Office, the average salary of a Vietnamese labourer in 2017 was just 6.5 million VND (285 USD) per person per month, said the report.

Hanoi ranked fifth in the list of localities with a high average monthly salary, with 9.3 million VND (407 USD).

The central city of Da Nang was in the second place, with an average monthly salary of 10.25 million VND (452 USD), followed by Binh Duong and Bac Ninh provinces with 10.1 million VND (444 USD) and 9.55 million VND, respectively.

Analysis of the data from 4.7 million applications submitted to 95,000 jobs posted on VietnamWorks from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2017, shows that graduates have high expectations of salary.

Positions with salaries ranging from 15.9 million VND to 22.6 million VND (701-1,000 USD) attract the most number of applicants, while 72 percent employment opportunities for fresh graduates offer salaries ranging from 5.7-11.4 million VND (251-500 USD).

According to the report, applicants for managerial-level positions in Da Nang city have low expectations of salary than those in other cities and provinces. Specifically, applicants favour positions with salaries between 701 USD and 1,000 USD, equivalent to the expected salary of experienced labourers, while most applicants in HCM City, Hanoi, and Binh Duong and Quang Ninh provinces apply for positions with salaries between 1,000 USD and 2,000 USD.-VNA