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Number of unemployed Indonesians falls to 7.47 million
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported a decrease in unemployment to 4.91 percent or 7.47 million, with significant implications for the labor market.
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Jobseekers line up on May 14, 2024, to file their employment applications during a job fair in Pandeglang, Banten, which featured 16 companies. Statistics Indonesia reported on Nov.4, 2024, a decrease in unemployment to 4.91 percent or 7.47 million. (Antara/Muhammad Bagus Khoirunas)
T
he number of unemployed Indonesians has decreased to 7.47 million in August, a decrease of 390,000 compared to the same month in the previous year, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) revealed on Tuesday.
“The open unemployment rate in August 2024 decreased to 4.91 percent from the total labor force in Indonesia,” BPS acting head Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti told a press conference on Tuesday, as quoted by Kompas.
This latest figure was significantly lower than during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, when unemployment reached 9.77 million in August 2020, reflecting an unemployment rate of 7.07 percent. However, it was an increase from the pre-pandemic unemployment figure of 7.10 million in August 2019.
The decline in the unemployment was observed in both men and women, standing at 4.90 percent and 4.92 percent, respectively.
Banten recorded the highest unemployment rate in Indonesia, with 414,750 individuals reported to be unemployed as of August. The figure, however, was 7.51 percent lower than in the same month in 2023.
Amalia said that Indonesia followed the International Labor Organization (ILO) standards for defining unemployment.
“The concept of unemployment refers to the ILO standards where a person who works at least 1 hour per week cannot be classified as unemployed,” she said, as quoted by cnbcindonesia.com.
“So, those working less than 1 hour are what we refer to as unemployed. Therefore, the concept of unemployment is like that. If they still work 1 to 34 hours, they still fall into the category of working.”
Previously, Deputy Manpower Minister Immanuel Ebenezer said that President Prabowo Subianto had tasked the Manpower Ministry with finding solutions to unemployment issues.
“We have been assigned by the elected president to carry out popular tasks,” he said remarked during a press briefing at the ministry on Oct. 22.
“Because this is his concern regarding unemployment and labor. Therefore, many programs will be implemented.”
Meanwhile, Manpower Ministry Yassierli said Prabowo had asked the ministry with considering digital transformation and downstreaming in finding solutions for workers affected by layoffs.
“There is an opportunity for us to create new jobs,” Yassierli said. “And here we will map out what the competency needs are and how we can meet those competencies.”
Yassierli also noted that the ministry has already been active in reskilling and upskilling initiatives and plans to ensure that training curricula align with industry needs.
Additionally, he said that Prabowo has asked the ministry to prepare Indonesian workers for opportunities abroad, particularly in the health and hospitality sectors.
