It proves that the government's policies are in line with the implementation of programs to reduce unemployment
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Government policies helped reduce the unemployment rate from 9.77 million in August 2020 to 9.1 million in August 2021, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, has said.

"It proves that the government's policies are in line with the implementation of programs to reduce unemployment," he remarked at the 'National Seminar on Regional Economic Acceleration to Stimulate National Recovery' here on Tuesday.

In August 2021, out of a total of 140.15 million people in the workforce, 9.1 million or 6.49 percent were unemployed, a decline of 0.67 million compared to August 2020, when 7.07 percent of the total workforce was unemployed, Hartarto informed.

Meanwhile, the number of employed people stood at 131.05 million, an increase of 2.6 million people compared to August 2020, he said.

Owing to the pandemic, the number of unemployed increased to 9.77 million in 2020 from 7.1 million in 2019, the minister added.

The working age population affected by COVID-19 stood at 29.12 million in August 2020 and decreased by 7.8 million to reach 21.32 million in August 2021, Hartarto said.

The number of unemployed in the working age group, who were affected by the impact of COVID-19, was 2.56 million in August 2020 and their number fell to 1.82 million in August 2021, or down 0.74 million, he added.

The non-labor force (BAK) also fell by 0.06 million due to COVID-19 from 0.76 million people in August 2020 to 0.7 million people in August 2021, he said.

The number of people temporarily out of work due to COVID-19 fell by 0.38 million from 1.77 million in August 2020 to 1.39 million in August 2021, he added.

Meanwhile, the number of people working for reduced working hours due to COVID-19 also decreased by 6.62 million from 24.03 million in August 2020 to 17.41 million in August 2021, according to Hartarto.

The declining figures can be attributed to the government's efforts to eradicate unemployment, among other things, by implementing the Pre-Employment Card program, under which Rp18.13 trillion has been distributed to 5.96 million people, he added.

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Translator: Astrid FH, Fardah
Editor: Sri Haryati
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