Vietnam Revs Up

Newsweek, November, 2005 by George Wehrfritz

They troll Hanoi's industrial fringe by the thousands, piloting scooters or pedaling bikes in search of help wanted signs outside foreign-invested factories. There are plenty to be found. Posters announcing employment exams festoon signboards; successful applicants can expect to begin work within a week, making anything from inkjet printers to wire harnesses to toilets in one of Vietnam's new factories. Nyugen Van Thand hopes to bag a technician's job with Japanese software maker Yabashi. "It's very competitive, but my interview went well," says the earnest 24-year-old. Of the 60 applicants, five will be selected. The pay: $85 a month.

Roving jobseekers are a big part of Vietnam's success. Its economy, though still in transition from communist central planning, has shone...