File photo: Agencies

HANOI, Dec. 29 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's national index of industrial production rose 3.36 percent year on year in 2020, according to the country's General Statistics Office on Tuesday.

The processing and manufacturing sector, the main driver of the surge, went up 5.82 percent, contributing 1.25 percentage points to the overall growth.

The electricity production and distribution sector grew 3.92 percent, contributing 0.19 percentage points, and water supply and waste management grew 5.51 percent, contributing 0.04 percentage points.

Regarding key products, between January and December, phone components witnessed the largest year-on-year output expansion at 22 percent, followed by television sets (up 20.7 percent), and rolled steel (up 16.4 percent).

Industrial products with significant output reductions included refined sugar (down 22.9 percent), beer (down 13.9 percent), liquefied petroleum gas (down 13 percent) and crude oil (down 12.6 percent).

As of Dec. 1, the total number of employees in the industrial sector declined 2.3 percent on a yearly basis. Employment went down 2.4 percent in the processing and manufacturing and 1.8 percent in mining, said the office.