IDNEWSNOW.COM, Jakarta – The National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) said the open unemployment rate, currently at 4.2 percent, will increase to 9.2 percent this year. Suharso Monoarfa, Bappenas head and National Development Planning Minister, stated the projection during a joint work meeting with the Indonesian House of Representatives Commission XI on Wednesday, September 2.
In addition, the poverty rate due to the Covid-19 pandemic will also increase to a range of 9.7 to 10.2 percent.
Before the pandemic, Indonesia’s poverty rate was in the lower range, namely 8.5 to 9.0 percent.
Meanwhile, data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS)—the state’s statistics agency, the number of poor people in March 2020 reached 26.42 million, or 9.78 percent of the population. The number reflected a 0.37 percent annual increase from March 2019.
Suharso also conveyed that the Covid-19 pandemic, which has hit the economy, will lead to a negative growth within a range of -1.1 to 0.2 percent.
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