Bandung, W Java (ANTARA) - The strength of West Java's workforce has reached 24.74 million in 2021, comprising 22.31 million employed workers (90.18 percent) and 2.43 million unemployed workers (9.82 percent), Governor M Ridwan Kamil informed on Tuesday.
The figure is based on data released by Statistics Indonesia (BPS) as of November 5, 2021, he said.
"While there has been a 0.64-percent reduction (in the unemployment figure) from last year, the figure is still considered high when compared to other provinces in Indonesia," he noted at an event here on Tuesday.
The unemployment figure can be attributed to a large population of 49.94 million, the influx of a large number of migrant workers to West Java, and a significant impact of COVID-19 on the formal manpower sector, he explained.
"According to the BPS data, the number of workers affected by COVID-19 in West Java is 460 thousand. This number improved after a reduction of 240 thousand people when compared to 2020," he said.
According to Kamil, currently, West Java is one of the three provinces sending out the most migrant workers, but there are still problems concerning the workers.
Related news: Indonesia doing better in terms of job creation: Minister
"There is still slavery of children with special needs, trafficking through BKK (Special Job Fairs), migrant workers who are threatened with the death penalty, and the vulnerability of household migrants to physical, sexual, and mental violence that remains high," he elaborated.
The pandemic has left migrant workers more vulnerable, he said adding, information systems and data on such workers have also not been integrated yet.
To deal with the situation, the West Java provincial government has made several efforts such as the expansion of job opportunities and improvement of worker candidates' competitiveness, the governor highlighted.
In addition, the Jabar Migrant Service Center (JMSC) management system has been developed to integrate data and information systems to improve manpower management, he added.
Related news: E Java govt must function accordingly to handle unemployment: Senator
