Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia's open unemployment rate dropped to 4.99 percent in February 2020 from 5.01 percent a year earlier, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).
"Despite the drop, the number of unemployed people increased by 60,000 as the number of laborers rose 1.67 million (compared to February 2019),” BPS chief Suharyanto said during a virtual press conference on Tuesday in Jakarta.
The number of unemployed people in Indonesia totaled 6.88 million compared to 6.82 million earlier, he informed.
Based on the level of education, graduates from vocational schools made up the highest percentage (8.49 percent) of the unemployed. Meanwhile, senior school and diploma graduates accounted for 6.77 percent and 6.76 percent, respectively, of the total unemployed workers.
He said people aged 15 to 24 years dominated the open unemployment rate, contributing 16.28 percent to the total figure.
"This condition suggests that the older the people get, the lower the open unemployment rate would be," Suharyanto noted.
The BPS also pegged the number of Indonesian laborers at 199.38 million, of which, 137.91 million constituted the labor force.
He said 131.03 million of the 137.91 million laborers were employed, while 6.88 million did not find any employment.
"The number of laborers rose 1.67 million compared to February 2019, particularly in the educational service, construction, and health service sectors," Suharyanto informed.
He said the unemployment rate did not include workers who were laid off or forced to take unpaid leave due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which struck the country in March this year.
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