HANOI - Vietnam is projected to send about 90,000 labors abroad in 2014, up 5 percent year-on-year, the government said on Thursday.

In 2013, Vietnam sent 85,700 labors to overseas market, a 5 percent higher than set target, according to the Overseas Labor Management Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

The government agency attributed the increase to the growing demand for labors in major traditional markets including China's Taiwan, Japan, and Malaysia, as well as to adjacent markets such as Laos and Cambodia.

Dao Cong Hai, deputy head of the department, said the prospect for Vietnam's labor export in 2014 remains optimistic.

While traditional markets like Japan, Taiwan and Malaysia are likely to receive more Vietnamese workers in 2014, the potential markets including Germany are set to be expanded and promoted, said Hai.

Hai added that there is a great demand for Vietnamese skilled and high-quality workers in Germany, especially nurses and orderlies.

The Overseas Labor Management Department would help further raise the competence of labor export enterprises, renovate the selection and training of laborers, and protect legitimate rights of Vietnamese workers overseas, Hai said.

In 2013, South Korea paused to receive new Vietnamese labors due to a great number of Vietnamese workers illegally resided in the country after finishing the contract.

However, the situation will improve soon as the two countries have recently signed a memorandum of understanding under which South Korea will receive 14,000 Vietnamese labors in 2014.

South Korea remains the second largest markets for Vietnamese workers after China's Taiwan, according to the department.