Employment and Unemployment in Indonesia
The following table sets forth Indonesia’s employment and unemployment rate as a percentage of Indonesia’s labor force as of the period indicated.(1)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | As of February | | | As of August | |
| | 2024 | | | 2024 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | (in millions) | | | % | | | (in millions) | | | % | |
Employed | | | 142.2 | | | | 95.2 | | | | 144.6 | | | | 95.1 | |
Unemployed(1) | | | 7.2 | | | | 4.8 | | | | 7.5 | | | | 4.9 | |
Total | | | 149.4 | | | | 100.0 | | | | 152.1 | | | | 100.0 | |
Source: BPS
(1) | Working age population refers to all persons in Indonesia 15 years old or older and includes certain non-workforce categories such as students and home makers. |
(2) | The Government defines unemployment to include all persons 15 years old and older without work who (i) are looking for work, (ii) have established a new business, (iii) are not looking for work because they do not expect to find work, and (iv) have made arrangements to start work on a date subsequent to the unemployment measurement date. |
Infrastructure Development
National Strategic Projects
A key priority of the Government is to encourage infrastructure development as a means to accelerate economic growth particularly in rural areas, support further industrial development and tourism, enhance urban transportation and improve the lives and economic welfare of Indonesians by reducing unemployment and poverty. National strategic projects (Proyek Strategis Nasional, or PSNs) are infrastructure projects of strategic importance for economic growth, equitable development, job creation and the advancement of national development plans. The project that is designated as a national strategic project will receive more attention from the Government through the grant of additional resources and completion on an expedited timeline.
National strategic projects are regulated through presidential regulation and implemented by the central and regional governments in coordination with SOEs and the private sector, prioritizing the use of domestic components. Since 2016, a total of 212 PSNs have been completed, with total investment value of Rp1,926 trillion. In November 2024, President Prabowo Subianto directed the continuation of PSNs and special economic zones as drivers of an inclusive and sustainable economy.
The PSN program currently comprises 228 projects and 16 programs divided into six main categories by function and purpose: (i) basic infrastructure, such as dams and irrigation facilities, drinking water supply systems, airports, railways, and toll roads, (ii) regional development projects, such as tourism areas and eco-city areas, (iii) energy resilience projects, such as power plants, waste-to-energy plants, and transmission networks, (iv) industry downstreaming and investment projects, such as special economic zones, industrial zones, smelters, and agricultural and plantation projects, and (v) projects for strategic policies, such as food estates, merger of SOEs, agrarian reform, drone research, and multifunctional satellites.
The Government estimates that the total cost of the projects and programs currently designated as national strategic priorities to be approximately Rp6,480.5 trillion. Indonesia’s infrastructure investment requirements exceed available public sector funding. As a result, the Government currently expects to pay for approximately 31.0% of this cost using public sector funding (state budgets, SOEs and regional SOEs), with the balance coming private sector investment. The public sector funds would primarily be used to support basic infrastructure projects, food security (e.g., irrigation, dams) and transportation, logistics and connectivity projects as well as urban transportation.
The Government expects to finance the remaining cost of the priority infrastructure projects through greater private sector participation, specifically: partnerships between the Government and the private sector (i.e., private public partnerships (“PPPs”)), and increased borrowing by the Government and SOEs.
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