Indonesian unemployment rate down in 2016

The Indonesia Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said in August, 2016, the country had 7.03 million jobless people among 125.44 million of labor force.

“Compared with August, 2015, the number of working people rose 3.59 million and the number of jobless people declined 530,000. The number of workforce, therefore, increased 3.06 million in August, 2016,” BPS chief Suhariyanto told reporters here on Monday.

Suhariyanto said the number of working people rose in almost all sectors during the one year period excepting in the construction sector where the number of working people dropped 230,000 people or 2.8 percent.

“The highest increase in number was recorded in the public service sector in which there were 1.52 million more working people or an increase of 8.47 percent, followed by an increase of 1.01 million or 3.93 percent in the trading sector, and 500,000 or 9.78 percent increase in the transport, warehousing and communications sector,” he said.

Among the 118.41 million working people, the largest number was in the agriculture sector reaching 37.77 million or 31.9 percent, followed by the trade sector reaching 26.69 million or 22.54 percent and the service sector 19.46 million or 16.43 percent, industrial sector 15.54 million or 13.12 percent, the construction sector 7.98 million workers or 6.74 percent, the transport sector 5.61 million workers or 4.74 percent, the financial sector 3.53 million or 2.98 percent and mining sector 1.83 million or 1.56 percent.

BPS said in August, 2016, Labor Force Participation Rate (TPAK) was 66.34 percent or every 100 working age people , around 66 were actively employed. Unemployment rate in the same period was 5.61 percent.

The highest unemployment rate by provinces was in Banten reaching 8.92 percent , followed by West Java at 8.89 percent. The lowest unemployment rate was in Bali at 1.89 percent and Bangka Belitung at 2.6 percent.

“Tourism sector contributed to low unemployment rate in Bali and Babel,” Suhariyanto said.

He said in August 2016 , there were 50.21 million people or 42.4 percent of the working people in formal sector having business with permanent workers of 68.2 million.