“Be careful with this gig economy. It is a ‘part-time economy.’ If it is not managed well, this will become a trend, where companies prefer freelancers,” he cautioned.
He delivered the remarks at the 22nd Congress of the Indonesian Economic Bachelors Association (ISEI) and the 2024 ISEI National Seminar in Surakarta, Central Java, on Thursday. The event was followed online from here on the Presidential Secretariat's channel.
According to Widodo, such an economic trend could lead to companies giving preference to workers with short-term contracts, such as freelancers, to cushion the impact of ongoing global economic uncertainty.
He explained that in a gig economy, companies can also employ workers from within the country or abroad. Thus, jobs could shrink.
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The Head of State also expressed the hope that the ISEI 2024 congress and national seminar would result in a study of tactical plans and strategies to prepare for the future economic situation.
"We need tactical actions, not a macro plan that is difficult to implement in this very difficult situation," he stressed.
Widodo further said that automation has created challenges in various sectors.
For instance, automation driven by machines and artificial intelligence (AI) could potentially disrupt at least 85 million jobs by 2025.
“At first, we only have the mechanical automation, and now, AI (has emerged) with its analytical automation. New things appear every day and by 2025, 85 million jobs will be displaced due to automation boost in various sectors,” he said.
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Translator: Mentari, Kenzu
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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