According to the HCMC Statistics Office, the city's IIP was estimated to have risen 1.2 percent from the previous month and 11.3 percent year-on-year in May, lifting industrial production growth to 11 percent for the first five months of 2026.
The manufacturing and processing sector remained the key growth driver, posting an 11.8 percent increase, outperforming the overall industrial sector. Production in the city's four key industries grew 13.4 percent, 2.4 percentage points higher than the overall industrial growth rate. Among them, pharmaceuticals and chemicals recorded the strongest expansion at 22.9 percent, followed by mechanical engineering at 15.3 percent, food processing at 9.7 percent, and electronics manufacturing at 1.1 percent.
The city's three traditional industries posted more modest growth of 2.3 percent. Textile production rose 9.1 percent, garment manufacturing increased 1.6 percent, while leather and related products declined 0.4 percent.
Industrial demand also strengthened during the period. The consumption index of the manufacturing and processing sector increased an estimated 2.8 percent from April and 2.9 percent year-on-year in May. Overall, the sector's consumption index rose 15.8 percent in the first five months of the year.
Employment in the industrial sector continued to improve. The number of workers in industrial enterprises was estimated to increase 0.9 percent month-on-month and 3 percent year-on-year in May. For the first five months, industrial employment grew 2.5 percent compared with the same period in 2025.
Several industries recorded particularly strong labor growth, including transport equipment manufacturing, up 50.2 percent; coke and refined petroleum products, up 48.5 percent; non-metallic mineral products, up 17.9 percent; and food processing, up 17.3 percent.
