Sept. 29, online

Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) chairman Hariyadi Sukamdani has said that in September alone, 27,000 people lost their jobs as companies started to lay off workers when the rupiah weakened and the economy slowed down.

Based on data from the state-owned workers insurance company BPJS Ketenagakerjaan, according to Hariyadi, there had been 724,000 employees who had disbursed their old-age benefits (JHT) from January to December.

'€œFrom that figure, 210,000 employees disbursed their funds from Sept 1 to 28, some 27,000 of whom are categorized as being laid off,'€ he said after meeting with President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo at the State Palace on Saturday as reported by kompas.com.

Your comments:

This country lacks passion to do the right thing and is always so lenient to other countries.

Fadhilah Thamwin

The problem is not lack of money from investors, but rather the availability of profitable and sustainable investments.

At the same time the layoff of low paid staff is continuing, the salary levels for well-educated talent increases. The new generation'€™s lack of good education makes it hard for them to compete in the labor market. There is disconnection between the reality of the labor market and the educational system.

Today the living costs of low-level staff has doubled in the last two years. This has forced companies to rationalize their tasks or even dismiss workers.

Even though this would generate productivity improvements, it would create large social differences, since the people being laid off, would have no other job opportunities.

To change this situation we either have to accept lower salaries or improve education.

OB

This happens because the government continues its nationalistic rhetoric and constantly blames foreigners for the crisis. These workers and many more to come will actually believe that it is the fault of the foreigners.

Whenever the government blames external elements for its inability to try to fix the economy, they are closing the door, little by little, towards foreign investors. With so many smaller Asian countries offering better incentives for investors and a friendlier, easier, less corrupt way to open businesses, don'€™t expect a high increase of investors in this country anytime soon, and expect even more lay-offs as this crisis continues.

WO

The slowdown stems from lack of investment. Investment will only come when investors are happy with the integrity of the legal system.

With the judiciary being corrupt and the Attorney General'€™s Office being only interested in executing people convicted of drugs offenses and letting murderers off with prison sentences, I see no hope of investment.

ER

Pretty much shows the lie in the government'€™s previous statements about unemployment. As if they ever knew the facts in the first place.

Charles Jarret

They should send all the unemployed to fight the forest fires '€” then it wouldn'€™t take three years to put the fires out.

MJ

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