The online employment indicator on vietnamworks.com showed the HR demand surged 152 percent in the year's third quarter over the past 18 months while the supply rose only 119 percent.

The trend began at the start of this year because of the rapidly developing economy and the increasing numbers of companies recruiting.

The quarterly indicator said sales, accounting/finance, administrative/clerical, executive management, engineering, and banking/investments had the highest labor demand over the last two quarters.

Jonah Levey, the CEO of Navigos, which owns the website, commented this year Vietnam had attracted a huge amount of foreign investment capital but it was unlikely that the local market could provide an adequate labor force.

There was strong competition for talent in which the big companies fished for best candidates in the labor pool.

According to Mr. Levey, Vietnam is not the only Asian nation struggling with a big shortage of skilled labor.

Like other emerging markets, the country's boomingeconomy has combined with the failure of the education system to produce a shortage of skilled workers and qualified graduates.

The result was a “talent fever.”

He said companies must develop long-term HR and recruitment strategies to attract the best employees.

He added however insufficient technical skills would be the big problem in the years to come as the industrial production sector remained the most attractive area for foreign investment.

Navigos' director of the executive search and selection department, Nguyen Thi Van Anh, said manufacturing would be the second industry having high payment rises after the finance sector.