The East Java government should be more proactive in creating policies that could stimulate the economy in various sectors to create jobs and to absorb the existing workforceJakarta (ANTARA) - Regional Representative Council (DPD) Chief A. A. La Nyalla Mahmud Mattalitti urged the East Java provincial government to take concrete steps to handle the problem of unemployment and other social issues.
"The East Java government should be more proactive in creating policies that could stimulate the economy in various sectors to create jobs and to absorb the existing workforce," he noted in a press statement here on Tuesday.
According to data of East Java's Statistics Indonesia, the number of unemployed people in the province reached 1.28 million in August 2021, an increase of 134,330 from February 2021.
Matalitti noted that the East Java provincial government should take its decision based on the BPS data, especially pertaining to which sector requires the most workforce.
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"It is based on this data that accurate developments can be conducted. We should also see the level of education that most workers possess," he added.
East Java's workforce totals 22.32 million people, or 70 percent of the entire population.
Meanwhile, the number of workers that had received primary school education was still quite high, at 42.58 percent in August 2021.
Moreover, the National Workforce Survey (Sakernas) survey result in August 2021 found that the agriculture, forestry, and fishery sectors in East Java absorbed the maximum number of workers, reaching 31.68 percent.
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"Observing this composition, the provincial government could develop the agriculture industry. This sector absorbs quite a significant number of workers, with primary school level of education," the DPD chief affirmed.
In addition to creating jobs, the provincial government should improve training for the workforce that have recently completed their schooling or had been terminated due to the pandemic, he noted.
"At the very least, they have the skills that would become their foundation as an employee or even as an entrepreneur,” Mattalitti explained.
What is most important is that the provincial government’s policies should align with and be in tune with the central government to achieve optimal synergy and reduce the level of poverty and unemployment, he expounded.
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Translator: Sigit Pinardi, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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