"The manufacturing sector's performance, or its contribution to the overall economy, is recorded at 19 percent," he remarked in a press statement on Wednesday (August 27).
He also believes that investment will revive the industrial sector and spur increased human resource capacity.
"The most important thing is increasing human resource capacity. When the investment comes in, the public can take part," he continued.
He outlined that investment has created around 1.2 million new jobs in the first semester and is expected to reach three million by the second semester of 2025.
"The total (investment this year) could absorb between 3.5 and 3.6 million workers," he addressed.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Minister of Investment and Downstreaming, Todotua Pasaribu, confirmed that investment in the manufacturing sector absorbs the largest number of workers.
Therefore, he encouraged job seekers to prepare themselves as employment opportunities are expected to rise.
"The manufacturing sector absorbs the most workforce because it still relies on labor. For other sectors, such as processing industrialization, the main concern is technological strategy," he explained.
Based on data from the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming, the manufacturing subsectors that absorb the most workers are the textile and textile products (TPT) industry, the footwear and leather industry, the food and beverage industry, the electronics and components industry, and the automotive industry.
However, Pasaribu said that labor absorption as a positive impact of investment must still be reviewed from various perspectives.
For example, in the smelter or nickel processing industrialization sector, labor absorption may be lower than in manufacturing, but it can create an economic ecosystem with significant value.
"Perhaps the number of workers absorbed is much smaller than in a shoe factory," he noted, while underlining that investment is closely related with the new economic ecosystem.
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Translator: Fathur Rochman, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Primayanti
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