JAKARTA -Indonesia’s open unemployment rate dropped to 6.26 percent in February, 2021 from 7.07 percent in August, 2020, according to a survey conducted by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS). “The open unemployment rate in February, 2021 stood at 6.26 percent, falling from 7.07 percent recorded in August (2020). This means there has been an improvement, though it has not returned to the previous level,” BPS chief Suhariyanto said at an online press conference here on Wednesday.
The decline in the open unemployment rate was higher among women than men, he disclosed.
The open unemployment rate in women was 6.46 percent in August, 2020 and dropped to 5.41 percent in February, 2021, he said. Meanwhile, the open unemployment rate in men was 7.48 percent in August, 2020 and fell to 6.81 percent in February, 2021, he added.
“The open unemployment rate for women and men dropped 1.05 percent and 0.65 percent, respectively,” he said.
The open unemployment rate in several provinces, including Jakarta, Banten, and West Java also declined quickly during the period, he informed.
The highest open unemployment rate of 10.12 percent was recorded in Riau Islands and the lowest rate of 3.29 percent was recorded in West Sulawesi, he said.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s economy continued to shrink at 0.74 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, according to the Statistics Indonesia (BPS).
“Economic growth in the first quarter of 2021 contracted by 0.74 percent,” Suhariyanto stated.
He attributed the improvement in growth to an upward trend since the GDP contracted 5.32 percent in the second quarter of 2020.
“In comparison with the previous quarter, this shows a significant improvement. The contraction of 0.74 percent shows signs of increasingly concrete economic recovery,” he remarked.